


when youre here youre family dogg

by Gummie88, Karcutie



Category: Homestuck
Genre: All 4 Striders, Awkward Romance, Bro isn't abusive, Collaboration, Comedy, Complicated DirkJake, Confessions, DaveKat idiocy, Domestic, Established DaveKat, Famous Alpha Dave, Implied underage drinking, Includes fanart!, Light Angst, M/M, Mild Sexual Content, Original names for Bro and Alpha Dave, Pining Dirk, Sorry I know it's cringe but I had to
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-14
Updated: 2020-05-20
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:35:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 39,515
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23636911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gummie88/pseuds/Gummie88, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Karcutie/pseuds/Karcutie
Summary: Dirk was getting tired of watching his little brother parade around his perfect relationship. It washisturn to get a boyfriend. He was finally gonna do it.In the meantime, their oldest brother was flying in from Hollywood to visit them. It just didn't feel like home until all four Striders were under one roof.EDIT: Now with fanart!
Relationships: Dave Strider/Karkat Vantas, Jake English/Dirk Strider, One-sided DirkJake
Comments: 65
Kudos: 279





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Aaaahhh hello!!
> 
> I am so excited to post this fic. This is a collaboration with the artist [Karcutie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Karcutie/pseuds/Karcutie) who is also my best friend! We started brainstorming this fic a few weeks ago. We planned, I wrote, and they drew the fanart. Yes you are totally allowed to scream about the fanart in the comments. 
> 
> One of our favorite Homestuck AU's is when all four of the Striders are really close. Sometimes you need a nice Strider AU amidst all the angst. 
> 
> This fic is a bit unorthodox so tagging and writing the summary was hard. Just know that it involves tons of self-indulgent Strider headcanons, cute DaveKat, complicated DirkJake, and Alpha Dave!!
> 
> If you guys like the fic (and the art) please remember to leave kudos and COMMENT! They are what ultimately motivates me to write and for us to keep brainstorming AU's. Enjoy having a height reference for all the boys and stay tuned to unlock the oldest Strider ;)

\-- golgothasTerror [GT] began pestering timaeusTestified [TT] \--

GT: Dirk!!  
GT: I havent heard from you since you told me you dropped your classes. How are you holding up mate??

Dirk's eyes flicked up from where he had been working on his current project. He scanned the green text, set down what he was holding and wheeled his chair over a few inches so he was properly in front of his keyboard. He reached up and brought down his shades from where they were resting on top of his head so he didn't have to squint against the harsh light of his monitor.

TT: Sorry, things have been kind of hectic around here.  
TT: Bro wasn't too happy about me dropping out so I've been trying to stay out of his way the last few days.  
GT: Golly that sounds stressful...  
TT: Eh, he'll get over it.  
TT: Better than going to those bullshit classes.  
GT: Well i admire you sticking to your guns!!  
GT: I have to admit that ive missed having you on campus though. Things have been mighty boring without my best chum around!  
TT: I'll still be around. I've just been working on some projects that have kept me holed up in the apartment is all.  
GT: I suppose i should have expected that since you have some free time on your hands now.  
TT: We should meet up soon though?  
GT: Just give me the word and im there! Youre the only person i can properly duke it out with. A proper round of fisticuffs is in order!  
TT: It hasn't even been two weeks and you're already begging to get your ass beat.  
GT: Oh can it, we've had a draw or two.  
GT: Id love to stay and chat but unfortunately i still have classes to attend to. Cheerio, strider!  
TT: Bye, Jake.  
GT: *Double pistols and a wink!*

\-- golgothasTerror [GT] ceased pestering timaeusTestified [TT] \--

The corners of Dirk's mouth quirked up slightly when reading the last line of text. The brief conversation with Jake left him feeling refreshed. He was no stranger to holing himself up in his room for nearly days on end, but with the tension in the apartment, it was nice to talk to someone who wasn't bro or Dave. Dave didn't really give a fuck that he decided to drop his college courses, while bro absolutely lost his shit.

Dirk didn't see the big deal, he had been paying for it all anyway. Bro had said something about "wasting his potential" by not pursuing his robotics skills professionally, and that he'd need proper schooling for it. Well… he didn’t actually _say_ that. He just sat there seething when Dirk explained the situation and then refused to talk to him for days. It was a small sacrifice so that he didn’t have to go to the general education courses anymore, which were so reminiscent of high school that it made him nauseous. He figured he'd be much more successful taking his chances programming and doing bullshit jobs. Fixing computers wasn't glamorous but he could live with it, especially if it made him enough money to eventually move out. So, in the meantime, he'd just have to deal with bro's shitty attitude. Everything was bound to blow over within a week, anyway.

As he moved to the other side of his desk to resume what he had been doing before Jake messaged him, he heard the front door of the apartment open and close. "I'm home." Someone called out to him.

He glanced at the clock, noting that it was shortly after three, meaning Dave had just gotten home from school. "Hey." He answered back, loud enough so his little brother could hear him. It didn't take much since the place was so small.

"Karkat's here, by the way." Dave added, followed by the sound of a couple of bags being thrown onto the floor near the front door.

"Pretty sure they don't need a fucking announcement every single time I come over." Karkat told him, his voice loud and abrasive as ever.

"Just tryin' to be courteous, man. It's in our bro code."

"More of this 'bro code' shit. Is all of this in writing? Because I would love to be enlightened." The other said sarcastically.

The two continued their typical banter as they shed their jackets by their bags, walking further into the apartment. Karkat didn't even have to be led through the narrow hallways, swiftly walking by Dirk's open door to Dave's room. The Strider trailed behind him, stopping at the threshold of Dirk's room, casually leaning a shoulder on his door frame. For a second he let himself be amazed by the sheer mess that the older somehow existed in every single day. At some point it was going to reach a point where you wouldn't be able to see his floor underneath all of his materials and half-finished robots. "Did bro say whether or not he was working tonight?" He asked.

Dirk swiveled around in his chair so he could properly face the other. "No, I haven't heard from him all day. He's pissed at me, remember?" He reminded him with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh yeah..." Dave mumbled, his mouth setting in a thin line as he thought. "Do you think he'd mind if me and Karkat took over the living room for awhile? We rented a movie."

"Why don't you just ask him? He usually doesn't give a fuck." Dirk said, turning back around to the project on his desk. Now that he knew Karkat was out of sight, he pushed his shades back up onto his head so he could see the tiny mechanical pieces clearly.

"C'mon, man, you know if I ask him he's just going to be a dick and say no. I was just kind of banking on him being out tonight."

"Then you'd better hope he's out." He mumbled, clearly losing interest in the conversation.

"Fuck..." Dave sighed dramatically, still lingering for a second. "Finally talking to Jake again?" He said suddenly, obviously trying to hold back an amused tone in his voice.

Dirk once again glanced at his computer which was still displaying his pesterchum conversation with Jake. Wordlessly, he reached over to power off his monitor so the screen would go black.

Dave laughed. "I wondered how you would be able to cope since you dropped out. It was only a matter of time until you'd start having withdrawal symptoms from not being able to see some sweet English ass on the daily."

Dirk's eye twitched in annoyance. "Don't you have homework to do?"

"No." He lied.

"Bullshit. You won't graduate if you keep dicking around."

"Sorry mom, didn't realize you suddenly gave a fuck about my grades. You're obviously just trying to deflect the conversation away from your dream boyfriend's plush rump."

Dirk had enough, grabbing one of his tools on his desk and hurling it towards his brother looming in the doorway. Dave saw it coming, just as quickly grabbing the door handle and slamming it closed so the tool nearly missed him and smacked against the wood of the door. Dirk heard another laugh from the youngest Strider followed by some quick footsteps as he jogged a few steps away into his own room, shutting the door behind him.

Dirk shook his head, thankful that he managed to get the other to leave him alone. Even though he was eighteen and about to graduate high school in a few months, he still acted like a kid sometimes. A kid whose sole mission was to annoy the shit out of him. It was almost infuriating in its familiarity. He also knew that teasing him about Jake was the golden ticket to get a rise out of him, and had been for years. Dirk liked to think he had gotten better about ignoring Dave's insistent teasing, even if he started pushing it more and more as time went on.

Even though he wanted to get back to his work in progress, Dave's intrusion had effectively distracted him. The second away from his tedious work made him all too aware of his sore neck and back from slouching over his desk for hours. With a defeated sigh, he stretched his arms above his head, feeling the relief when his back popped in various places. Through the thin wall he could hear Karkat and Dave talking but he couldn't make out exactly what they were saying. The sound was familiar since he and Dave had been hanging out for over two years now. Karkat may as well move in with them since he was over so often.

Dave was unlikely to bother him again any time soon, so Dirk slipped on his headphones and turned his computer back on. As he queued up some music, he read over the short conversation with Jake again, wondering if and when he should ask him if they wanted to get together to hang out soon. He decided to wait until the weekend rolled around, that way Jake wouldn’t be in class. He just hoped that he didn’t have to work, which was sometimes the case.

In the meantime he let the hours pass by easily as he tended to other online nonsense, trying not to let his mind wander too far into the dangerous territory that was Jake English.

—

It was pitch black outside by the time his stomach growled, begging for a meal he had neglected to eat all day. He could feel the familiar pangs for a while but just tried to ignore them, being exceptionally lazy when it came to making himself some food. Eventually, though, he couldn’t take it anymore, and he reluctantly took his headphones off while pushing his chair away from his desk. He stretched once again when he rose to his feet, his muscles stiff and a little sore. He probably could have used a good sparring session to loosen up a bit.

He stepped carefully over the crap all over his floor, his computer being the only light to guide him through the otherwise dark room. He cracked open his door, pausing when he heard the TV on in the living room. Sure enough it only took a couple more seconds to hear a stupid comment from Dave about whatever it was he and Karkat were watching, which only set off a chain reaction of playful arguing and bickering. He heard no sign of bro, so he figured the coast was clear to venture out to the kitchen for some grub.

His feet silently padded on the worn carpet as he walked towards the kitchen, only planning on grabbing a bag of chips or something before going back to his room. When he rounded the corner to enter the main area of the apartment, he was met with the sight of Dave and Karkat tangled up in one another, attentively watching their movie. Karkat was sitting in between Dave’s legs, his back leaned comfortably against his chest. Dave kept him there with a loose embrace, his arms wrapped around the boy’s middle and using his height advantage to rest his chin on top of Karkat’s head in his messy black hair. The sight was not uncommon for them, and yet it still made Dirk’s eyes narrow in annoyance. They hadn’t even realized he was standing there yet.

He lingered for another couple seconds until Karkat's reddish-brown eyes shifted over to him, doing a double take when he fully processed that he was in fact standing there. "Shit!" He jumped in surprise, his head smacking up into Dave's chin, causing his teeth to clack together loud enough that even Dirk could hear from where he stood.

He winced as Dave made a pained noise, groaning and letting go of his boyfriend. "Ow...!" He complained, rubbing at his chin and jaw where Karkat's skull made direct contact. "What the fuck dude?" He asked, his eyebrows pulled together in confusion.

Karkat moved so he wasn't leaning against him anymore, looking back in a rare moment of genuine concern. "Fuck, I'm sorry." He said. "Your brother scared the absolute shit out of me. I didn't even hear him walk in until I looked over and saw him looming in the dark hallway like a fucking ghost." He explained, watching Dirk wearily.

Dirk coughed into his fist a couple times, both to draw attention to himself and mask a laugh. He walked behind the futon and into their messy kitchen in search of something to eat.

"Oh... yeah, he does that." Dave mumbled, not all that interested.

"Well it's fucking creepy." Karkat declared. “No human should be able to stalk around like that, I’m going to have a fucking heart attack if I keep hanging out over here.”

He tuned them out as he began searching the cupboards. Most of them were completely empty or filled with random shit, indicating that someone needed to go grocery shopping soon. Even if it were a useless feat, he cracked open the fridge door to peek inside, only seeing the typical shitty swords and some orange soda on the top shelf. He reached into grab one of the sodas since he was already there, careful not to brush his hand or arm up against the dull blades. With the cold can in his hand, he tried the freezer next, having a little more luck. He didn't really feel like preheating the oven or anything, so he grabbed an almost empty bag of pizza rolls. He poured out the rest of them on a plate that was already sitting out next to the sink and carelessly tossed it into the microwave to cook for a couple minutes. He turned around to lean against the counter while he waited.

“Dude!” He heard a protest from Dave in the living room and his head pop up to look at him over the back of the futon. “Were those my fucking pizza rolls?”

“No.” Dirk lied instantly, pulling out his phone from the pocket of his jeans to pass the time.

“You dick, yes they were. Those were fucking mine, bro.” The other insisted.

Karkat groaned next to him with a legendary eye roll. “Will you fucking shut up? I’m trying to watch this movie. I need to know what happens when these two go to Amsterdam. I’m invested at this point.” He begged, seeming especially grumpy ever since Dirk walked in on them and ruined their moment.

“Sorry man, this is a betrayal of epic proportions. This is so much more important than August Waters’ bone cancer.”

“Put your name on ‘em next time, then.” Dirk said, still appearing uninterested as he browsed an amazon listing for a random computer part he needs.

“What is this, a teacher’s lounge? Next time we get pizza, you’re paying for it, and I will not hold back on my order. Extra large with stuffed crust, extra cheese, three large orders of breadsticks, _and_ some boneless chicken wings.”

“Damn, that sounds really good...” He heard Karkat mumble. Dave held out his hand for a high five that his boyfriend instantly returned.

“Fine, only because that sounds dope, actually. Not because you told me to do it.” Dirk agreed, mostly so that they could change the subject.

“We’ll have to do that when we have our next big movie night. Whaddya say dude, Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff 3? We just watched 2 and Kitkat over here hasn’t seen the third masterpiece. I think that one may be my favorite.”

Karkat scoffed loudly. “ _Fuck_ that. I am so sick of your stupid Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff movies. They make no sense. I already feel like I have irreversible brain damage from all the deep fried jpegs and incomprehensible dialogue. You also keep trying to convince me that the director is your oldest brother, who I’ve never met the _entire_ time I’ve known you, which has been, what, four or five years? You’re full of shit and all you want to do is make me suffer.”

“Dude I’m tellin’ you he is our oldest brother, you just haven’t met him ‘cause he only comes home for holidays and shit.” Karkat wouldn’t budge and Dave turned to his brother for support. “Come on Dirk, tell him that I’m not bullshitting.”

“He’s not bullshitting.” Dirk contributed not-so-helpfully, pushing off from the counter as soon as the microwave beeped. He retrieved his plate of shitty food and grabbed his soda.

“That’s not enough to convince me. You guys always fucking conspire with each other to make me look like an idiot and I will _not_ fall for it this time.”

“You’re just gonna look like an idiot when you finally do meet him and see that he actually is.” Dave tried to reason.

“So your brother is some big time movie director and you guys live in this shit hole? … No offense. Actually, fuck that: full offense.” Karkat added after a second.

“We could never ditch this place. It’s home, man.” Dave said with sincerity. “Anyway, having another movie night would also give Dirk the excuse to invite Jake over.” Dave said, an obvious shit eating grin on his face as he looked at his brother.

“Will you drop the Jake bullshit? You talk about him more than I do at this point. And this is the last place I would bring him, especially with you and bro being around.”

“Why? I brought Karkat over here and nothing bad ever happened.” There was a tense silence in the room as they all simultaneously recollected memories of one of Karkat’s first visits that Dirk was sure he would rather forget. Dave powered through the silence and continued. “Is it so wrong for me to want my bro to get it on with his long time crush? You’re the one who refuses to do anything. I was kind of hoping that me annoying the shit out of you would help, kind of like that reverse psychology shit. Y’know, something Rose would blab on about.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s not even reverse psychology you fucking moron.” Karkat said, taking the words right out of Dirk’s mouth. By that point he had his face in one of his hands, completely giving up on the possibility of resuming their movie. It was tragic, really, since he had no fucking interest in the details of his boyfriend’s brother’s romantic woes.

“I already told him that we can hang out again soon.” Dirk told Dave, trying to slowly inch his way back into the hallway so he can make a break for his room.

That only made the other Strider more invested. “Oh fuck yeah, about time. Are you gonna finally do it? I don’t know much about Jake, but you’ll probably have to be fucking strategic. He still has that weird thing about blue skin right? So what I think you should do is get some blue body paint so that when you meet up with him he’ll have no fucking choice but to want some of your-“

“Can we please talk about something else? Full offense but I never want to think about Jake English in any fucking capacity to begin with let alone his personal love life of whatever the hell.” Karkat interrupted, his face getting redder with anger as time passed.

Dirk thanked all gods he could think of for Karkat’s distraction, giving him an opening to side step out of the kitchen into the safety of his own room.

By the time Dave looked back, he was already gone. “Fuck, I still had so many great ideas I wanted to run by him.”

“Why are you so invested? Dirk’s like twenty five, he can handle that shit himself.”

“He’s twenty one, actually.”

“Whatever.”

“And you don’t get it bro,” Dave elaborated, dropping the volume of his voice so Dirk wouldn’t accidentally hear them. “Dude’s fucking smitten with Jake. Like straight out of your fuckin romance books or whatever. It’s honestly kind of pathetic, but he’s my brother so I can say that. He just needs an extra push to do fucking anything or else he’ll analyze the fuck out of it forever. Which he’s already kind of been doing.”

“I don’t know if what you’re doing can be considered ‘a push’... or even helping at all, for that matter.” Karkat told him with raised eyebrows, also dropping his volume the slightest bit. “Also pretty fucking bold of you to call someone else pathetic when it comes to romance. If that’s the case then the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”

Dave put a hand to his chest, feigning being offended. “What are you trying to say dude? I’m the most romantic person that has ever walked the fucking Earth.”

Karkat blankly stared at him. “For our first date you took me to a sleazy bowling alley where all you did was try to come up with a million different ways to throw the ball down the lane. I seriously thought we were going to get kicked out. That piece of pizza we shared was so fucking greasy that I think it single-handedly caused every single skin problem I have ever and will ever have.”

“But hey, it was memorable, right?” Dave countered, moving to wrap one of his arms around Karkat’s shoulders and pull him gently into his side so that they were loosely cuddling again.

While before his face had been hot with anger, then it was from being comfortably pressed up against the Strider and feeling the warmth radiating from him. “... yeah, I guess it was.” He muttered, suddenly not having much fight in him anymore. He scooted closer and moved to rest his head on the other’s shoulder, shifting his gaze back to the TV to avoid looking at Dave.

Dave smiled, filing that exchange away as a victory for him. He knew just how to make Karkat soft. They began trying to piece together whatever the fuck happened in their movie that they had missed a solid twenty minutes of by that point.

\--

When Dirk finally got to hang out with Jake on the weekend, it wasn't exactly what he had in mind.

Getting Jake alone was actually more of an ordeal than one would think. Very rarely was Dirk the only one in the apartment, therefore they couldn't take over the living room. His room was also a little bit too chaotic to hang out comfortably in there, either. When they were both in high school, they used to just go over to Jake's place, but they couldn't even do that anymore since he moved out and into a college dorm room.

So, that's where Dirk found himself: sitting rather uncomfortably with Jake on his twin bed watching a movie on his tiny TV at the other end of the room. The room was pretty standard as far as dorms go: cramped and overall pretty run-down. Jake had a roommate, but Dirk had never met him. He remembered Jake telling him that his roommate was never around anyway, being able to go home whenever he wanted. As a result it created a nearly perfect divide between their halves of their rooms, Jake's side being far more cluttered and lived in than his roommate's.

Jake somehow managed to cover every single square inch of his wall space with posters, exactly like his room used to be at home. It was actually pretty hard to focus with Nicolas Cage's nearly comical gaze mere inches away from his face as he tried to focus on whatever unimportant sounds the TV was making. It was pretty hard to hear any dialogue through the shitty speakers since the action sounds were so fucking overpowering. Jake didn't seem bothered, though, leaned forward and watching intently with his dark green eyes.

While their hang out was supposed to be a typical bro sesh, Dirk had a plan. A plan that probably should have been set into motion years ago.

Dave's relentless teasing was annoying, but also sort of a wake up call. He really didn't have a good excuse as to why he hadn't asked Jake out yet. Either he always chickened out or just kind of forgot about it, especially since he had been busy more often than not. The drama about him dropping his classes was also a pretty damning distraction. Though since things had settled down and a sense of normalcy had returned, he figured it was as good of a time as any.

Plus he was getting pretty sick of his younger brother showing off his long term relationship to the point where he was almost rubbing it in. Dave may have gotten lucky with Karkat, but Dirk was ready to show him that he wasn't an incompetent fuck when it came to romance. He was going to woo Jake one way or another.

Speaking of Jake... he had been staring at him out of the corner of his eye for awhile. It was something he did while they watched movies, especially since he rarely had any interest in whatever it was they were watching. Once he’d seen about two or three of those action movies, he’d seen them all. It was much more interesting to watch Jake’s reactions, anyway. The way his breath would catch and he'd lean forward in anticipation, how their arms and shoulders brushed together since they were sitting so close... It was distracting enough that he had a hard time getting his thoughts together for what he should do next.

He figured the best time to do it would be right before he was about to leave, that way if things went south he could dip pretty quickly without it seeming too awkward. It was already getting pretty late and bro said he was going to pick him up soon. He knew that Jake always had to talk about the movie for at least a solid half hour after it was over. Could he bring it up then? Would there be an opportunity for him to bring it up organically? He didn't really want to catch Jake completely off guard, though, cause that would probably result in more uncomfortable explaining. Maybe if Jake gave him a ride home he can do it in the car? But he did already say he would have bro pick him up, so changing plans at the last minute would _also_ be weird, plus-

"Dirk...? Yoohoo~"

Dirk jumped slightly, snapping out of his trance. He blinked and properly looked at Jake, feeling disoriented since his train of thought was abruptly derailed.

Jake's laugh sounded a little unsure, but he was amused nonetheless. "You alright, chum? You've been tense all night! Something on your mind?" He asked. His eyes were wide and inquisitive behind his glasses, tilting his head the slightest bit as he watched him intently.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He started, discreetly wiping his sweaty palms off on his jeans. He swallowed, hating the way his heart started racing. He was so distracted that he didn't even notice that the movie had ended, the grandiose music playing over the rolling credits.

"I gotta say, I couldn't help but feel tense as well. I honestly believe that Mr. Cage absotively outdid himself in this role! I can't believe that we’ve been friends for years and I hadn't shown you Ghost Rider yet! Truly a masterpiece. I have to say my favorite part is when they were on top of the skyscraper and he got to use that whip of his. The way he knocked those bozos off the roof like KA POW! Ooh Lordy, that _has_ to be the best part by far!" Jake enthused, making dramatic arm and hand gestures as he spoke, causing the mattress to bounce up and down slightly.

Before he could say anything, though, Jake pressed on. "I almost missed your incessant commentary throughout the whole thing! Either the movie was just that good or something's gnawing at you, and I'm pretty sure it's the latter." He suggested.

"I don't know what you mean, man, I've been completely cool the entire night. Just straight up fucking chilling. Never before has a person been as chill as I am right now in this very moment. Me being quiet was a new approach that I've been working on to hopefully help you realize how ridiculous these movies are. I can see now that it's not working."

Jake rolled his eyes, shoving at his shoulder. "Good gravy Strider will you just come out with it? It's like pulling teeth with you."

Dirk's mouth pursed into a thin line, his mind reeling. This isn't how he thought this would go at all. Fuck. "Okay damn, guess I'll just get to the point then." He settled for. Might as well get it over with, like ripping off a band-aid.

The fact that Dirk wasn't going along with Jake’s joking tone suggested that it was more serious than he thought. His smile fell and his eyebrows furrowed together with concern. "Okay...?"

Jesus, don't sound so fucking agitated. Redo. "Chill English, it's nothing bad. Or, er, I'm hoping it's not bad..." He trailed off.

Jake continued to stare at him, his body tense.

"Fuck, okay," Dirk tried again, frustrated with himself. He ran a hand through his hair and turned slightly so he was facing the other more head-on. "What I'm trying to say is... this bro shit we've got goin' on is fuckin' awesome. Really great stuff, I gotta say." He started, almost cringing at how his accent suddenly decided to make itself known more than usual. "But I guess I was wonderin' if you'd want to try... being more." He settled for. It was absolutely incredible how he managed to be eloquent in every other situation, and yet he was having a hard time spitting out a single coherent sentence.

"More?" Jake repeated, tilting his head again in confusion. The gears were obviously turning rapidly upstairs as he tried to decode whatever the hell it was Dirk was trying to say to him. After a second, Jake's expression changed, almost like a lightbulb turned on. "Well gosh, sorry if I'm reading this situation all wrong Dirk but... Are you asking me out?"

The bluntness of Jake's question hung in the air as he waited for Dirk to respond. The Strider could feel his face burn hot, no doubt turning red all the way down to his neck. He cleared his throat, adjusting his shades on the bridge of his nose, hoping that his hands weren't visibly shaking. He had no idea how the question managed to get turned around back onto him. Though that gave him the option to back out if he wanted... Though Jake had already figured it out, so was there any point in denying it? "... Yeah." He finally said, his voice quiet.

"O-Oh..." Jake said. It was almost as if it took a second for the information to set in, because when it finally did, a blush spread across Jake's face as well. Suddenly he had to break eye contact with the Strider, nervously rubbing at the back of his head. "Golly..."

Alarm bells were going off in Dirk's head. That wasn't a good sign, right? Was that a bad thing? Was he about to get rejected? Was he blushing because he was flattered or because he was put off and didn't know how to break the news to him? Jesus Christ, Dirk just wanted to disappear into the wall of posters behind him, to just sink into Nic Cage's cold embrace. "It's totally cool if you'd rather not. Like, completely fucking fine, it wouldn't bother me at all-"

"Oh confound it Dirk, I didn't say that, okay? You just... surprised me is all. I feel all... discombobulated." Jake interrupted him, cutting off his nervous rambling.

Dirk swallowed, nodding slightly. "Right..." The silence between them was thick and heavy for a few seconds. "Well... what DO you want to do?" He pressed, not sure how much more he could take.

"Well, I-"

Suddenly there was a brief knock on the door, followed by the sound of a key being turned in the lock. Both of them jumped, whipping their heads around towards the door. It was pushed open to reveal a pretty short guy, wearing a pair of black jeans and a bright red oversized jumper. "Excuse me Jake, I forgot one of my textbooks for my homework this weekend-" The guy saw that Jake wasn't alone in the room and he stopped in his tracks, shifting his gaze between the two of them. "O-Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize you had a visitor..." He muttered, obviously uncomfortable.

"Oh, uh," Jake cleared his throat, sitting up straight. "That's quite alright! We were just watching a movie and catching up."

Dirk's eye twitched, wondering if he should be offended by that or not. He stared at Jake's roommate behind his shades, wondering if he could convey the feeling of hatred without saying a single word.

It must have been working, because the guy seemed frozen by the doorway, still his light eyes still shifting between them. "I really am sorry, I figured you would have texted me to let me know if you had a visitor over. While that hasn't been an issue before I'm pretty sure it was in our roommate agreement that we should let the other know if someone was coming to visit. Though, I guess it is the weekend, and I already said I would be leaving, therefore it's not really necessary for you to send me a message, especially if it was presumed that I would not be coming back at all as I _also_ didn’t send a text of my own letting you know that I would be coming in-"

"Dude, do you mind? We were kind of in the middle of something." Dirk interrupted him, the annoyance bubbling up within him as the guy continued to talk and talk. Could he not read the room?

Jake glared at him and harshly elbowed him in the ribs, silently telling him off for being rude. Dirk could hardly be regretful since it did manage to shut the other guy up. "Oh, yes, excuse me!" He exclaimed, quickly taking a few more steps into the room and grabbing a text book that had been sitting on his neat and organized desk.

As he did so, Dirk kept staring at him, his annoyance fading away as he realized that he looked... familiar. The black, messy hair, his dark complexion, his short and stocky build...

The other guy must have been thinking the same thing. He stopped in the doorway, looking back at Dirk. "By the way..." He started, "Are you one of the older Striders?"

Surprised, Dirk's eyebrows shot up. "Yeah...?"

"Huh, I thought so!" When Dirk continued to stare at him blankly, the guy continued. "I'm Karkat's older brother, Kankri. Karkat talks about you guys a lot. Plus Dave comes over sometimes and you two do look a bit alike."

Dirk nodded slowly. That mystery was solved, but it didn't change the fact that Kankri completely interrupted them at the worst time. He wasn't really in the mood to indulge in the 'oh wow what a small world' and other bullshit equivalent.

"A-Anyway," Kankri said, put off by Dirk's silence. "Sorry again for interrupting. Bye, Jake." He said definitively, giving him a small wave before he turned on his heels and walked out the door.

With Kankri gone, the silence was so prominent that you could hear a pin drop. By that point even the movie credits were over, and Dirk wondered if Jake could hear his heart pounding in his chest.

"Sorry about that, mate." Jake muttered, shifting on the bed once again so that he was turned towards him.

Dirk shook his head, his lips pursed together. "It's fine." He lied. "Shit happens."

"Indeed..." Jake agreed. He took a deep breath as if he were psyching himself up for something. "What I was trying to say before all that nonsense happened," He began, and Dirk held his breath. "I say we give it a go!"

Dirk's jaw dropped slightly in surprise. "Wait... really?"

"Sure! I mean, you are my best pal. It couldn't hurt to take a stab at this, yeah?" The other explained, his perfectly imperfect smile on full display.

Dirk had been so nervous from the possibility of rejection that it took a solid few seconds for the excitement to set in. His long time crush just agreed to go out with him. While in the back of his mind he couldn't help but be bothered by Jake's wording, he really didn't give a fuck. He was just blown away that he technically had a boyfriend. "S-Sure, yeah." He settled on, feeling kind of dizzy. "Sick. Awesome."

Jake laughed, greatly amused by the Strider's speechlessness.

Dirk felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, snapping him out of his trance. Reluctantly, he pulled it out, checking what the notification was.

Hey, I'm outside.

I don't give a fuck if you're bumping uglies in there I'm gonna dip if you're not out here in two minutes. Starting the fucking countdown as we speak.

Dirk frowned, bro's messages as terse as ever. He pocketed his phone. "I gotta go, bro's here to pick me up."

"Oh." Jake replied, his expression falling a bit. Dirk hated how soft it made him feel that Jake didn't want him to leave. "I guess we'll have to resume our movie night some other time?"

"Yeah, for sure." Dirk agreed, slipping off of Jake's bed.

Jake did the same, walking with Dirk towards the door. The Strider paused, turning to face the other. They had always been about the same height until the end of high school when Jake went through another growth spurt. Then he was tall enough that the blond had to actually tilt his head up so that he'd be able to look at him properly. As they stood there, Dirk realized that he had no idea what he should do. Some sweet daps? A hug? A firm handshake? What the fuck do people usually do after they decide to date?

Thankfully he didn't have to dwell on it too long as Jake decided to take the plunge, surging forward to give him a hug. Taken off guard, Dirk tensed, hesitantly bringing his arms up to return the embrace. After a second, though, he relaxed, letting himself enjoy the warmth radiating off of Jake's body. He smelled earthy, almost like sandalwood. He always wondered whether or not that was his natural scent or if it was some kind of cologne.

They finally pulled away from each other and Dirk was feeling dizzy all over again. "Later, man."

"Bye, Dirk." Jake responded, still smiling.

After the door closed behind him, Dirk swiftly made his way out of the dorm building towards the parking lot, hoping that bro didn’t actually take off without him.

\--

"Yo Karkat look, this one's my favorite."

Karkat sleepily opened his eyes, lifting his head up slightly from where it was resting on Dave's chest. He watched the beginning of a YouTube video where a guy was starting to drill some holes into a large carrot so he could use it as an instrument. It was the same shit they had been watching all day. He rolled his eyes and laid his head back down. "Holy shit can't we watch something else? I fucking get it already."

"C'mon dude, aren't you impressed? These dudes really out here making ill beats with fucking vegetables."

Karkat was barely paying attention, listening to Dave's heartbeat in his chest. The sound was comforting and rhythmic, making it even harder to fight off sleep. He cuddled closer to him, burying his face further into his boyfriend's hoodie and intertwining their legs together. "It was impressive maybe the first five times, now it's just the same shit over and over." He responded, his voice muffled.

Dave huffed out a quiet laugh, using his free hand to soothingly card through Karkat's thick hair. He smiled as the other practically melted against him. "Alright then, Your Highness, what do _you_ want to watch?"

Instead of answering with words, Karkat lifted his head again, reaching over to grab the Playstation controller that was sitting on the low coffee table. Right as he moved, though, he spotted something out of the corner of his eye; someone lingering in the dark hallway, right at the threshold of the living room. Karkat jumped and his eyes widened, losing his balance so that he tumbled ungracefully to the floor. "Fuck-!" He exclaimed right before he hit the thin carpet, landing pretty painfully on his right arm.

Dave, startled by his fall, went to sit up, looking down at him with concern. "Shit, you good?" He asked.

"Fucking Christ," Karkat said instead of answering him, pushing himself into a sitting position so he could glare at whoever was in the hallway. Of course, it was Dirk, looking pretty pleased with himself that he managed to scare Karkat for probably the hundredth time. "How the fuck do you do that? Are your footsteps even _capable_ of making any sound? Fuck you." He said, not really expecting an answer.

Dirk shrugged, finally walking into the living room. "What are you guys doing?" He asked, sitting down in the only other seat they had in the living room. It was one of those "gaming chairs", but not the nice shit that Dirk had in his room. It was one of those cheap thirty dollar ones you get from Walmart that sit on the floor and rock. It literally stopped being comfortable by the time they were eight years old. Dirk's legs were so long that when he'd sit in it, he had to bend them uncomfortably. The three brothers would often argue over who had to sit in it when they were all in the living room. Bro had power over the futon no matter what, so it was really between Dave and Dirk. Dave would usually lose.

Dave bit his lip, holding back a laugh as Dirk tried to shift around and get comfortable. "Just some YouTube videos. I think Karkles over here wants to do something else, though."

Karkat grumbled, rubbing at his sore arm as he took his seat next to Dave on the futon again. "Whatever, I don't give a fuck, really." He said.

"Then why don't you guys go to Dave’s room? I want to play a game." Dirk told them, already moving to scoot out of his seat, no doubt looking ridiculous as he did.

Before Karkat could say anything, Dave interrupted. "No way dude we were here first."

Dirk raised a scarred eyebrow. "What are you, five years old? You guys are in here all the time."

"The law of this house states that whoever plants their ass on this futon first claims the living room and the TV for the whole night."

"Is that also written down in your 'bro code'?" Karkat asked, mocking what Dave had said a few days ago.

"No, it's not. And there is no fucking law over the futon, either. Not to pull the ‘I’m the older brother’ shit, because frankly, that’s kind of cringe, but… Maybe there should be a law that says ‘if I tell you to move your ass then you do." Dirk said.

Dave held his ground, moving to lay his entire body over the length of the futon, draping himself over Karkat's lap. "We ain't fuckin' movin'. You can go ahead and play your game but we still get the futon."

Dirk pursed his lips together, glaring at the two of them. Karkat's eyes shifted between Dirk and Dave, starting to squirm uncomfortably. "What's the big deal about the futon, anyway? It's so flimsy that you may as well be sitting on the fucking bars. I’m pretty sure the floor is more comfortable than this fucking thing."

"You don't get it, man." Dave said, a phrase that Karkat had heard about a hundred times by that point. He could already feel himself starting to tune out whatever ridiculous explanation Dave was going to give him. "This is the holiest spot in the apartment, like literally the holy grail. You can't just be giving it up all willy nilly, you gotta stand your ground."

Before they could continue their argument, they were all distracted by the sound of someone coming into the apartment, the door shutting heavily behind them. Bro tossed his keys and wallet onto the nearest counter like he always did before venturing into the living room. Dave moved to properly sit up. "Hey, Bro." He greeted casually. "How was work?"

"Same old shit." The oldest responded simply, his voice masculine and deep. He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms, his short sleeves straining against the size of his biceps. As soon as he walked in, Karkat had visibly tensed, sitting up straighter than he had been before. Bro tried nodding at him to acknowledge his presence. "'Sup Karkat."

"H-Hey, uh... Mr. Strider." Karkat said after a second of hesitation.

Dirk and Dave shared a look that said ‘Holy shit, Mr. Strider? Seriously?’.

Bro couldn't stop the tiniest smile from appearing on his face either. "Please, call me bro." He said.

Karkat's mouth open and closed a couple times as he tried to process the request. "... Um, no? Sorry, I already have a brother." He settled for

Dave's shoulders were shaking with laughter by that point.

Bro just shook his head, amused but deciding not to say anything else. He pushed himself off the wall so that he was standing up properly. "Sorry to ruin the party but... get lost." He demanded quietly, already making his move towards the futon.

Dave hopped up onto his feet instantly. "Right. C'mon, Karkat." He said.

Karkat's eyebrows shot up to his hairline, slowly following Dave who was already in the hallway. "What the fuck, seriously? You put up that huge fight with Dirk and now you're just walking away?" He called after him, hot on his trail.

Dave stopped, shushing him quietly. "I'll fight with Dirk all fucking day about the futon, but in the end that's bro's territory, man. If he tells me to scram, I'm gone. I don't even fucking dare to argue with him about it." He told him, talking quietly.

Once again more Strider Code bullshit that he just didn’t understand. Sometimes it was just better to accept it, so he nodded. "Alright, what the fuck ever."

Right before they could both get into Dave's room, though, bro called out to him from the living room. "Yo, get back in here little man."

"I'll just be a second." Dave told his boyfriend, casually putting his hands in the pockets of his jeans before making his way back down the hall. "What's up?" He asked curiously, standing next to Dirk who had gotten up from the gaming chair.

"Can't remember the last time you had to tell us both something at once." Dirk contributed, crossing his arms.

Bro kicked off his shoes, already taking back his spot on the futon and propping his feet up on the table. He took the remote remote to do what he wanted with the TV. "Yeah well it's been awhile since we've all been in the apartment together so I figured I'd tell you little shits in person rather than over text." The other two didn't say anything else, getting caught up in the suspense of the news. "Dane's coming to visit soon." He finally stated, dropping the bomb.

Dirk perked up, not able to stop the wide smile crossing his features. "Wait, seriously? When?"

"Didn't say." Bro said absently, interlocking his fingers behind his head and resting back against them once he had found something he wanted to watch.

Typical for Dane, Dirk thought, but that didn't make him any less excited. He couldn't stop smiling, it had probably been almost a year since he had come to visit.

" _Fuck_ yeah!" Dave exclaimed. "Do you think he's going to get a room at a fancy hotel like last time? That was so fucking sweet. We'll get to swim and sleep on a huge bed and-"

"Cool your jets, he's actually staying here with us." Bro interrupted Dave's daydream. "That's why you two need to work out who's room he's going to sleep in, because I swear to Christ I am not going to listen to you two fight when he gets here."

Dave deflated a bit at the news. "Fuck, seriously? This place is already small enough as it is..." He mumbled, crossing his arms.

"Don't complain or you'll sleep on the fucking street. Don't try me." Bro added, shooting a look in Dave's direction.

Dave straightened up, nodding a little sheepishly. "Sorry..." He responded quietly.

Dirk huffed out a breathy laugh. "He can sleep in my room." He offered, figuring he'd just settle it immediately so they didn't have to argue.

" _Your_ room? Your room's a fucking disaster." Dave countered.

Dirk shrugged. "I'll clean it. Unless you’d rather have him sleep in your room." He threatened, knowing exactly what the answer was going to be.

“No way, he always keeps me up at night. The dude never stops talking.”

“You must have gotten that from him, then.” Dirk said.

Dave could have defended himself, but he had no ground to stand on. He was absolutely right and there was nothing he could say to deny that.

"He’ll stay with Dirk then. Problem solved." Bro said, moving to lay down properly on the futon. "Now get out, I'm fucking exhausted." He told them, slipping off his shades. He pulled down his hat over his eyes to block out the light from the TV.

Dirk and Dave did as they were told, stalking off down the hallway. The youngest slipped into his room, quietly closing the door behind him. Karkat was sitting on his bed, mindlessly scrolling through his phone while he waited for him to return. As soon as he was back, Karkat locked it, glancing up to give him his attention. "What was that all about?" He asked the blond.

"Bro was just telling us that Dane's coming to visit soon." He said, moving to join Karkat on the bed. He sat close to the shorter, their shoulders pressed against each other.

"Dane?"

"Yeah, our oldest brother. Y'know, the guy you're convinced doesn't exist."

Karkat rolled his eyes. "Because he doesn’t. I’m not going to repeat myself for the thousandth time."

"The dude's name is literally Dane Strider. I showed you a picture of him before, he looks just like me."

"That's why I think it's bullshit! Anybody who’s blond and good-looking can put on a pair of shades and pass as a Strider. It definitely wouldn't be the first time you set out to make me look like a goddamn idiot. Also you call your oldest brother by his name but your other brother bro? That doesn’t make any fucking sense. You call your oldest brother bro because he’s your oldest fucking brother!" Karkat ranted, his voice rising in volume as he talked with his hands.

“Dude, did you just call my brother good-looking? Gross.” Dave countered, completely ignoring everything else he said.

Karkat made an indignant voice, his face hot with a blush. “He’s not your fucking brother though...! Are you even listening to me?” He asked, hitting his arm lightly with frustration.

Dave laughed, grabbing Karkat’s hand so he couldn’t hit him again.

“Anyway!” Karkat exclaimed, desperate to change the subject. “Speaking of your _actual_ brothers… I think they hate me.”

Dave's jaw dropped at the statement. "What? Why?"

Karkat paused, unsure of how he was going to explain himself. He just kind of thought Dave would get what he was trying to say. "They just do? I don't fucking know. Your bro is so quiet and I honestly cannot tell what the hell he is thinking. It just seems like he's always annoyed every time I'm over."

"Are you kidding me? Bro _loves_ you." Dave insisted.

Karkat was not convinced, staring at the other in disbelief.

"He literally talks to you every single time he sees you? Sometimes he'll say more to you than me in a day."

"You call that talking? He literally just says 'hello' or nods in my direction. That can hardly be considered conversation."

"Trust me, when it comes to bro, it can. That's just how he is."

Karkat relaxed a little, the genuine tone of Dave's voice had him second guessing his previous thoughts. He pressed on though. "Well what about Dirk? He's definitely always annoyed with me. I don't think there's ever been a single fucking moment where he isn't sending me rank vibes all the way across the room."

Dave hummed, shifting on the bed to get more comfortable. "That... I don't really know. Dirk's just kind of like that? The dude just has a stick up his ass most of the time. He's also been in a weird mood, especially lately. I don't think it has anything to do with you, though."

Karkat hummed, nervously playing with his phone that he was still holding in his hands. Dave watched him wearily, feeling bad that there probably wasn't anything he could say that would make him feel better. He honestly had no idea what Dirk's problem was most of the time, he had just gotten used to it. He didn’t really think about how it would make Karkat uncomfortable. He’d deal with that later… maybe.

After a few more seconds of silence, Dave grabbed his laptop at the foot of his bed and pulled it closer to them. “You wanna listen to some of the beats I’ve been workin’ on?” He offered.

Karkat smiled and shook his head. "We should probably do some homework. I don’t know about you but I kind of want to graduate high school."

"Aw man…” Dave deflated. “Lame. But fine. As long as you listen while we work.” He compromised.

"Alright.” Karkat agreed, reaching over to the side of his bag to grab his backpack. “By the way... What the fuck is your brother's name? There's you and Dirk, but I don't have anything to call your oldest brother. I don't care how many times he says it, I refuse to call him 'bro', it's fucking weird."

"Bro's name?" Dave thought hard for a second. "... I don't know, actually."

There was a beat of silence as Karkat processed the information. Finally, he started to fake laugh. "Ha ha fucking ha, funny joke. Seriously, though, what's his name?"

"I'm not fucking with you, I seriously don't know." Dave insisted, his tone of voice completely genuine. "I've just called him bro my whole life."

Karkat's bewildered expression never wavered, not even knowing how he should respond. "I... What the fuck? You're joking, right? How the hell do you not know your own brother's name??" He asked, his voice getting louder from sheer disbelief.

Dave sheepishly rubbed at the back of his neck. "I just don't? He fucking hates his name. Only Dirk and Dane know it and I've never heard them address him by his name before. Dane tries sometimes but he can never get the word out before bro fucking pounces on him. I just know it starts with a D."

His boyfriend was _still_ staring at him, searching his face for any sign that he was lying. There wasn't. "... You are the weirdest people on the fucking planet. I can’t even _begin_ to unpack this." He said quietly.

Dave just smiled and winked at him, forgetting he had shades on.

"I am making it my fucking mission to find out this guy’s name. It’s just something I have to do now. A call to action. I won’t be able to fucking sleep until I find out. You said Dirk knows it?"

A look of fear crossed Dave's features. "Y-Yeah, but please don't tell me what it is even if Dirk spills. I'd prefer not to be murdered by my own brother."

"Are you serious? He hates his name _that_ much?"

"Yeah dude I'm not fucking playing around. If you call bro by his real name then he really _will_ hate you. You can dig your own grave with that but I'd rather be spared. I'm afraid that if I even _hear_ his name he's going to somehow read my mind and then come after me too. No thank you."

"Jesus Christ you are all so stupid." Karkat breathed, pretending to be on the verge of tears. “Just forget it. Let’s get our fucking homework done.”

Dave nodded, plugging his headphones into his computer. He gave one to Karkat who accepted it greatly. The two of them fell into a comfortable silence, doing homework and listening to Dave’s music.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everybody! Note the change in tags and the rating change, we wanted to add a little more meat to this story. Sorry Dirk and Jake, even in a relatively normal AU you just can't catch a break. We told ya that the DirkJake would be complicated. 
> 
> This story is also going to be three chapters instead of two. We just really got into it and I didn't want this chapter to be much longer than the first. I'm sorry Alpha Dave isn't here yet, he's definitely coming in the next chap! 
> 
> Regardless we hope you guys like the story and the art. Please remember to leave kudos and COMMENT! They really motivate me to write and for us to brainstorm more AUs. 
> 
> Sooo for the fanart we planned for Alpha Dave to show up in this chapter, and even though he didn't, we still wanted to show you the entire Strider line up without their shades on. Enjoy!

A few uneventful weeks passed and Dane hadn't showed up yet. While it was disappointing, the Striders just figured that he had gotten caught up in something and that his visit would be later than originally expected. Bro would update them if he bothered to call or text, though they never got an official date. In the meantime, life just returned to normal.

Dating Jake had been... interesting, to say the least. They hung out a lot more than they did before, but other than that, things didn't really feel that much different.

For their first "date", Jake had suggested that they go for a hike. Even though it was late January, that didn't really make a difference in Houston, where the average temperature was still in the 60's. As long as he wore a light jacket it didn't really matter.

Dirk had been so excited that Jake officially asked him out that he just blindly accepted the suggestion. It wasn't until they were in the car for about an hour to reach some nature trails that the Strider remembered why he fucking hated being outside. The sun made his sensitive eyes hurt, even behind his shades. He was so pale that he was nearly translucent. He also sunburned easily, which was kind of embarrassing. He just felt out of place in general, especially compared to Jake who had showed up wearing his shorts, a short-sleeved shirt with his typical army green jacket, and an actual pair of hiking boots. He even brought along a backpack to hold their water bottles and other essentials.

It ended up not being so bad. Jake was in his element when it came to the outdoors, his tan skin glowing in the natural light. He held on the straps of his backpack, a permanent smile on his face as they walked between trees and climbed up the steep hills. They walked together in comfortable silence, something that Dirk wasn’t used to. It was nice to mix things up.

When they were walking back to Jake's car, they had to stay close together on a particularly narrow trail. Their shoulders brushed against each other on occasion, and Dirk couldn't stop glancing at Jake out of the corner of his eye. Swallowing nervously, the blond purposely brushed his hand against Jake's, his heart beating fast in anticipation. He noticed Jake visibly tense, and for a second Dirk thought he had done something wrong. Before he could take a step away, though, Jake hesitantly reached out and gently took his hand in his. Being ecstatic over hand holding was probably a little pathetic, and yet he just wanted to take the little victories whenever he could.

They had a few more uneventful movie nights, thankfully without any more interruptions from Kankri. Probably Dirk's favorite outing, though, was when he suggested laser tag. Since he didn't like the outdoors and Jake enjoyed both adventure and shooting, he thought it would be a great compromise for the both of them. They managed to luck out when they went to the local arcade, being the only two who signed up for that laser tag session. The best thing Dirk realized that day was that Jake actually fucking sucked at laser tag. Like, really fucking sucked.

It was if the script had been flipped between them. Dirk showed up dressed in black from head to toe, really wanting to play the part. Jake just dressed like he normally did, though hilariously enough he wore a bright white T-shirt. When Dirk pointed it out, the other laughed and waved him off, claiming that it wouldn't put him at a disadvantage.

Well, it did, and Dirk absolutely destroyed him. The Strider stalked around the room in complete silence, managing to catch Jake off guard at nearly every corner. Jake tried to be sneaky, and yet he just didn't grasp the concept of actually hiding before exposing himself, guns ablaze. He had aim, Dirk had to admit, but he would rarely get the opportunity to even hit him as the other ducked and rolled behind the various obstacles set up on the floor.

They had gotten so caught up in their game that they barely even noticed when their session was over, Dirk winning by a landslide. Regardless, Jake was a great sport about it, promising that next time they had a _real_ sparring match that he'd win. Dirk said he'd look forward to it.

Even if he was having more fun than he had in awhile, something was off. The worst part of it was that he wasn't even sure if that was normal or not. He just kind of expected things to fall into place after they took the plunge, and yet they rarely even acted like a couple. They had really only held hands, and every time it was initiated by Dirk. For the first couple weeks he just assumed it was because Jake was getting used to their relationship, having reminded him that he had never been with a guy before. The worst part was that after a whole month of being together there didn't seem to be much improvement. Dirk was getting antsy, but what the hell was he supposed to do about it?

Dirk had to do what he absolutely hated more than anything: talk to someone. Not even to get advice, really, just a conversation with someone who was in a relationship just to put things into perspective. He felt like he needed a sense of normalcy to balance out his unorthodox situation.

He absolutely could not talk to bro. He'd rather die. Bro was too perceptive, having already figured out they were dating without Dirk giving anything away whatsoever. Him and bro were so alike in that aspect that it was almost infuriating. If he even dared to go up to bro and ask him about relationships, he'd get eaten alive. Plus, he had never seen bro be in a relationship with anyone. He devoted all his time to work and raising him and Dave, especially when Dane moved to the west coast years ago. He probably wouldn't even have a normal story to tell if he had any at all. If he couldn't talk to bro then there really was only one other option...

On a Wednesday night in early February, Dirk and Dave were sitting together in the living room, bro still being at work. Having just the two of them in the apartment was a rare occurrence, especially with Karkat over all the time. Dirk took advantage of the situation, using the Playstation while Dave scrolled absently on his phone. Dave would offer some commentary every few minutes on whatever it was he was doing and they would banter back and forth.

After about an hour or so, Dirk spoke up. "So where's Karkat?" He asked, trying to sound as casual as possible, not taking his eyes off the TV.

Dave hummed. "Said he needed to stay home and 'actually study'," He explained, using air quotes. "Apparently I'm 'too distracting' or whatever."

"You? Distracting? No fucking way." He said sarcastically. “Maybe you should do the same thing.”

Dave scrunched his nose up at the thought. "Nope, can't, too busy." He claimed even though all Dirk had seen him do is scroll through TikTok the whole night. Not a single one of them he watched was good or funny.

"By the way," Dirk pressed. "How long have you and Karkat been dating?"

Dave raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

Dirk shrugged, still trying to appear casual. "Just wondering."

The other paused. "Does this have something to do with Jake?"

"No," He lied. "Can't a guy just have a conversation with his little brother? Damn."

"I dunno, you just never really seemed interested before." Dave moved to get more comfortable on the couch, sitting with his legs crossed. "Plus I'm not really sure you want to go down that rabbit hole. Me and Karkat's love story is one for the ages. They'll be writing about that shit a hundred years from now."

"I'm pretty sure it just involved you both pining for years before you did anything about it. The longing glances, the lingering touches. Pretty much what every single gay teenager goes through, dude.”

"Hey, are you going to let me tell the story or not? Because you're absolutely right but I wanted to be the one to say it."

The other smirked, pleased with himself.

"Anyway, I don't think Karkat and I ever formally made things official? Cause, I mean, we hated each other for awhile. Probably for over a year. He was a certified teasing gold mine, he claimed that he hated my guts... y'know, all that shit that's the pinnacle of romance."

Dirk was _rapidly_ beginning to regret his decision to talk to Dave. Why the fuck did he ever think that Dave was normal in any capacity?

He took Dirk's silence as a cue to continue. "And then we just kinda started hanging out? It was weird cause we couldn't fucking stand each other, and yet we just kept hanging out literally all the time. It was almost like we were feeding off of each other in some sort of fucked up ironic symbiotic relationship. Though I guess somewhere along the way we actually started to enjoy each other’s company."

So much detail and he still hadn't answered the initial question. "Then?" Dirk urged.

"I just kinda got to thinkin', y'know? Like... how much cuddling can two bros do before it qualifies as gay? Like, where does the platonic cuddling turn into the romantic shit? Is it not gay until you hold hands? Until your bro falls asleep on you? How many times do you have to think about kissing your best bro before it's gay? Cause I mean every guy has a few thoughts about his dude friends, right? Who doesn't have some gay thoughts about their guy friends? Nobody gives you a manual for this stuff. It’s every gay man for himself."

"Dave," Dirk cut him off, "As much as I'd love to hear you explain your gay crisis to me again, you don't have to. I was there, remember?"

Dave laughed, throwing up a peace sign. "Damn bro you sure were. You were _there_."

"Yeah yeah, stay focused. Then what?"

"Damn are we really playing twenty questions today or what? I feel like it's only fair if you let me interrogate you about Jake after this is all said and done."

"Twenty questions? You haven't even managed to get through one." The older reminded him.

"Wait... what was the question again?"

Dirk sighed. "Never mind, forget it." He said. He had a feeling that the conversation would quickly derailed, as most conversations with Dave did.

"No way I'm too invested in this now. As you know, I was having hella gay thoughts and going through at least stage seven of my gay revelation. Now that I think about it…” He paused,” I don't know how you were so chill about your situation with Jake. You totally didn't freak out like I did with Karkat.”

Dirk's eyebrows shot up to his hairline, falling completely silent. He even stopped playing his game to emphasize how shocked he was by the statement.

Dave tilted his head slightly, confused as to why he had such a visceral reaction. "What?" He asked.

"Are you fucking serious?" Dirk questioned quietly, turning his head so he could probably look at his brother.

Dave just continued to stare at him blankly. "What do you mean? You weren't anything like me when I was having my drama with Karkat. I mean I know I was in middle school when you were going through that shit so I probably wasn't as perceptive, but you still seemed so cool about it."

All within a few seconds Dirk had a moment of serious self-reflection on how different he and Dave were. Either Dave was that dense or Dirk was really quiet when he was coming to terms with his feelings for Jake. If only Dave actually knew what the hell he went through... He definitely would not be praising him for "how chill" he was. Maybe it was better to have a family member who didn't know what he was thinking 24/7, since that shit got exhausting really fast with bro. It was kind of nice to be around someone who wasn't constantly analyzing every single little thing he did. While Dirk knew that was a bad habit of his as well, he was at least aware of it. Bro seemed to pride himself in figuring shit out without being told.

That's also why he missed Dane. With Dane it actually felt like he was being supported rather than analyzed. Not to say bro didn't offer a few words of advice every now and then, but it was pretty much impossible to get it out of him without going through some grief first. In the end, Dave dealt with bro a lot better than he could, and it had always been that way.

He finally turned away to look back at the TV, resuming his game. "Yeah, sure." He agreed with Dave just so he could break the silence.

Dave wasn't quite convinced, watching him intently for a few more seconds. He eventually just shrugged and dropped the subject, once again proving Dirk's point even further. "Anyway, I finally got over myself, we kissed, started to go on real dates, and that was that. That’s all she wrote, baby.”

"You guys kissed before you were even a couple? Isn't that, like, step two?"

"Huh... is it? I never really thought about it. Pretty sure relationships don't have to go in a step-by-step process bro, especially when you're both caught up in a pining limbo for eternity."

"I'm just sayin' dude, usually people get together before they're all over each other. I think you and Karkat missed the memo."

"Who the fuck died and made you the relationship guru? I mean, I _am_ the one with the boyfriend here, so watch yourself." He threatened, though there was no real animosity behind it.

Dirk remained completely silent, continuing to play his game.

It took Dave a couple seconds to realize, but when he did, he gasped and sat up abruptly. "No fucking way, dude, you did it? Like for fucking real you finally did it??" He asked excitedly.

Dirk just smiled and stayed quiet.

"Bro!" Dave exclaimed, putting a hand on his shoulder to shove him back and forth, trying to get some sort of reaction out of him. "I can't believe it, I thought you'd never do it!"

Dirk paused his game as Dave shook him and he set aside the controller. "Wow I can't believe you had such little faith in me." He finally said, adjusting his shades on the bridge of his nose.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me sooner. I mean, I knew you were hanging out with him more but I didn't realize it was because of that. Does bro already know?"

"Of course bro already knows. Is that even a question?"

"What?! You told bro before me? That's cold, I was the one supporting you throughout the whole thing."

"I didn't _tell_ bro, he just knew. I didn't even breathe a word to him and he still somehow figured it out, you know how he is." Dirk clarified. "And I don't really know if what you were doing can count as 'supporting', but whatever."

Dave smiled. "Seriously though, that's awesome. Congrats."

Dirk scrunched up his nose. "Okay, that's enough of that. Don't get all mushy on me, it's not cool."

"Damn. Can't a guy be genuine in this house?" Dave countered, still smiling as he shoved at his shoulder again.

After that, the two of them settled down, resuming what they had been doing before their conversation. Looking back on it, Dave was extremely unhelpful. Dirk shouldn't have expected any less. Even if their exchange really didn't bring him any insight when it came to his situation with Jake, it was kind of nice. Having it out in the open made it feel more official and gave him a boost of confidence. Maybe he did just need to wait things out or devise some kind of plan moving forward.

\--

_"Ahoy, Strider!" Jake greeted, his face split into a wide grin._

_Dirk lazily turned his head to look at him, both of their cheeks red from the alcohol they had been drinking. "Hey English." He responded easily, his voice getting slightly lost in the pounding music from the speakers._

_Jake laughed, loud and melodic. "Are you enjoying yourself? I have to say, mate, you look positively crocked."_

_"Crocked?" Dirk repeated incredulously, laughter bubbling up in his chest. "That's a new one." He told him, still laughing._

_Jake stared at him, his expression softening. "I never realized that you had dimples."_

_Dirk calmed down slightly, slowly processing what Jake had said to him. "I - wh-what?"_

_"Your dimples. I never noticed them before." Jake repeated quietly, leaning in closer to the blond. Dirk held his breath as Jake brought one hand up to his face, his thumb brushing gently against his cheek._

_Dirk's smile fell at their sudden closeness, his inebriated mind reeling. He could feel his heart beating fast in his chest. As Jake kept his hand on his face, he noticed that he wasn't wearing his shades, having taken them off at some point, but he couldn’t remember when. The realization made him feel vulnerable, his eyes widening as he debated whether or not he should shy away from Jake's ministrations._

_Jake was none-the-wiser, finally dropping his hand but still keeping their faces close. "Your eyes, too. They're simply stunning. Too bad they're always covered up with those blasted shades." He mumbled, almost like he was saying it to himself rather than Dirk._

_Dirk was hardly registering anything that was being said to him, his senses completely overridden with just... Jake. The soft light of the lamp behind him created a halo effect in his hair and his breath smelled like a strange mixture of toothpaste and whiskey. His gaze kept shifting between his green eyes and his lips, still pulled up into the smallest smile. Dirk wasn't thinking clearly. They were just... so close. All he had to do was move a few inches more and then-_

_His eyes fluttered shut and he closed the distance between them, their lips brushing together so softly that it could barely be considered a kiss. He lingered there, just long enough for him to feel light-headed since he had been holding his breath for so long. When he pulled back, he instantly became aware of how rigid Jake was, his eyes wide with an emotion that Dirk couldn't quite place._

_Reality came crashing down on him all at once. "Oh, fuck." He breathed, his mind finally catching up with the reality of the situation._

_"Wait," Jake pleaded, his hand gently grasping Dirk's freckled shoulder. The Strider shuddered at the contact and held still. Jake leaned forward once again and captured Dirk's lips in a more confident and heated kiss._

_Dirk doesn't remember much of what happened next. He tried to keep up with the pace Jake had set for them, tilting his head for a better angle as their lips parted to deepen the kiss. He let himself get completely lost in the moment, breathing shallowly through his nose as he brought up his arms to wrap around Jake's neck. Jake responded by moving his hands down to Dirk's waist, tugging him forward the slightest bit so there wasn't so much space between them. Dirk broke away so he could inhale a shaky gasp, his nerves already thrumming with excitement. Jake took that as an opportunity, sliding his tongue into the Strider's mouth to engage him in another round of kissing that was even more uncoordinated and messy than the first._

_All Dirk felt like he could do was hold on for the ride. Jake's hands were everywhere on him, occasionally sliding up his sides before grabbing onto his hips, once again trying to get them closer. With the force of Jake's kissing and pulling, Dirk was gradually led to lean back rather uncomfortably against the arm of the couch, and yet he couldn't care less. His hand slid up from Jake's neck to card through his hair, gripping onto it tightly as he nipped at Jake's bottom lip._

_They pulled apart for air and the whole room spun as a result. Dizzy, Dirk tilted his head back, trying to catch his breath as he stared at the white ceiling in a haze. Jake took the opportunity to mouth down Dirk's jaw and neck, causing the Strider to breathe out a small moan. His jeans were already so uncomfortably tight. Jake moved away from him for a second, leaving him with a chill once his warmth was gone. The other moved them so that he could properly get between Dirk's legs, even if the position was awkward on the small sofa. The new position allowed Jake to completely cover Dirk's body with his own, aligning their hips so he could press down just **so** -_

Dirk was jolted awake by the sound of the front door opening and closing, abruptly pulling him out of his dream. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest and the sheen of sweat gathered on his hairline. He tried to regulate his breathing as he groggily became aware of his surroundings. It was pitch black outside, indicating that it was some ungodly hour of the night. If he strained his hearing enough he could make out the quiet sounds of bro moving about the kitchen and living room, probably getting ready to pass out since he had just gotten home from work.

The tail-end of his dream kept playing in his head over and over. He let himself get lost in it as he drifted in and out of consciousness, feeling the lingering arousal deep in his gut. The bruising, breathless kisses, Jake's masculine scent, the way their hips rolled together in a consistent rhythm...

There was another sound from the living room as bro adjusted the futon so he could lay down, the metal bars clinking together quietly but still loud enough to pull Dirk completely out of his dream-like trance. Damn the paper thin walls... and that Dirk was such a light sleeper.

The blond pulled his thin blankets completely off of his flushed skin so that he could cool down for a second and collect himself. He could so easily reach into his shorts and finish himself off and relieve the tension that had built up, but knowing bro was in the other room and possibly awake was a major mood-killer. Instead he just threw one of his arms over his eyes, taking deep breaths so that he could calm down.

He couldn't even count how many times he'd thought about that night at Roxy's. It had happened well over two years ago and it still plagued his dreams sometimes. He never figured out what had gotten into Jake that night. As soon as things started to actually get heated between them Jake pretty much passed out on him, leaving a sexually confused and frustrated Dirk to wonder what the hell he was going to do. All the alcohol in the world couldn't have prevented his brain from overthinking to the point that it nearly made him sick. To make matters worse it was never brought up again, and Dirk had to wonder if Jake even remembered what happened or if he had blacked out.

Recollecting the complexity of the situation was like dumping a bucket of ice water over him, which was probably for the best. With a dejected sigh, Dirk sat up and ran a hand through his messy hair, determining that he needed a shower since it was unlikely he was going to be able to fall back asleep any time soon. Besides, his mind was already reeling when it came to devising a plan to fix his current problems with Jake, the past be damned.

\--

By the time it was the next day, Dirk had thought of a plan. It wasn't groundbreaking or anything, but it was sure to get the ball rolling between them. The only thing is that he would need the apartment for the whole night, and by god he was going to make sure that happened.

At about five o clock, Dirk ventured out of his room to find Dave and Karkat. He heard them come home from school a couple hours ago so he assumed they were in Dave's room. Walking down the hall, he stopped in front of the closed door and knocked a few times, waiting for a response. No one answered so he tried again. "Dave?" He called, turning the knob so he could open the door just a crack, hesitantly glancing inside.

Karkat and Dave were on the bed, completely entangled with each other with Dave's comforter wrapped around them. They were both laying on their stomachs facing the door, Karkat's arm draped over Dave's back while he rested his chin on his shoulder, watching the Strider play something on his Nintendo DS. Dave looked completely focused, his shades pushed up to rest on top of his head so that he could see clearly. The light of the screen illuminated his face and eyes, his eyebrows pulled together and tongue between his teeth as he played. Karkat was watching intently, his own eyes scanning the screen rapidly.

Dirk paused in the doorway, eyebrows raised, wondering if they were ever going to notice him. When they didn't, he coughed into his fist.

Finally, Dave glanced up, his attention breaking from the game. "What?" He asked tersely, trying to multitask. Though as soon as he shifted his focus, his game played a high pitched voice clip that indicated he had lost at whatever he was doing.. "FUCK!" He exclaimed loudly.

"You fucking IDIOT!" Karkat yelled, not even taking into account that he was right next to Dave's ear. "You got a split! How the fuck are you going to get the rest of those elves? There's no way you can do it in one go, the game doesn't account for that!"

"I threw it down the middle like I was supposed to!" Dave defended.

Dirk glanced between the two of them incredulously. "What the hell are you two doing?"

"Well I _was_ about to get a perfect score in Elf Bowling before you came along. You ruined everything." Dave claimed dramatically.

After Dave explained himself, Karkat's expression changed, almost as if he came to a life changing realization. "Shit, he's absolutely right. What the fuck _are_ we doing?" The shorter repeated, almost as if he were disgusted with himself.

"What, like you didn't want to watch me down some elves? You were totally into it a few minutes ago."

Karkat sighed and tried to roll away from him but he couldn't get very far since they were wrapped up so tightly in the blanket. "I really need to stop going along with whatever the fuck you want to do. How long have we been doing this? What time is it even?"

Dirk shook his head, crossing his arms and leaning against the door frame. "Sometimes I feel like I'd rather walk in on you two fucking than doing... whatever the hell this is." He said, mostly referring to how they were on top of each other literally every time he saw them, usually doing something stupid at the same time.

Dave smirked. "Oh yeah?" He challenged, mischievously looking over at Karkat. He leaned over and started trying to kiss Karkat's cheek.

Karkat made an indignant noise, trying to pull away from the Strider even if he couldn't get very far. "Dave!" He scolded, bringing a hand up to shove his face away. The other just laughed.

Dirk made a face at the display. "Anyway," He said, getting their attention. "I need you two to be out of the apartment tomorrow night."

"Why?" Dave pressed, narrowing his eyes at his brother.

"Because I have shit planned." He said, not offering any details.

Dave easily decided to take the L, knowing that Dirk wasn't going to give out any information if he didn't want to. "Fine, whatever." He agreed absently. "Now if you'll excuse me; I'd like to resume my elf bowling." He said, like it was a serious activity or something.

Karkat closed his eyes in a way that suggested he was trying to endure a great amount of pain. “Why did I agree to this...” He lamented.

Dirk took that as his cue to leave. He stepped back into the hallway, shutting the door behind him and leaving the two alone. Since he was sure that the two were going to be out on Friday, he could proceed with the rest of his plan.

\--

"I have to say, I can't remember the last time you invited me over to the apartment. Is it weird that I'm kind of nervous?" Jake said with a laugh. He buckled his seat belt and stuck his keys into the ignition, his jeep starting noisily.

"It's not like the place has changed at all." Dirk responded, climbing into the passenger's seat of the car. He breathed a quiet sigh of relief, happy to finally get off of his feet for the first time in hours. He buckled himself in as well, leaning forward and brushing some dirt off the cuffs of his jeans as Jake pulled out of their parking spot and onto the road.

Jake saw what he was doing out of the corner of his eye and grinned, leaning back in his seat with one hand still on the steering wheel. "I told you to wear something that was more hiking appropriate but you showed up in jeans and a T-shirt."

Dirk sat back up once he had brushed himself off. "What, you can't hike in jeans? Says who?"

"Me! You need a pair of shorts and some hiking boots, mate."

"Maybe next time I'll show up in assless chaps and cowboy boots."

Jake's face turned red and he pulled at his collar. "Gadzooks..."

The blond smiled at the reaction. He looked out the window, noticing that they were getting close to being back in the city. He rolled his window down, letting some air into the car since they had slowed down. He rested his elbow against the side, feeling the wind against his hand for a few seconds. It was cool enough to leave a chill on his skin and yet the setting sun still provided some warmth.

They fell into a comfortable silence for the rest of the drive, Jake weaving in and out of city traffic while Dirk stared out the window at the local businesses and restaurants. Soon enough the Strider started to recognize the area by their apartment, indicating that they were almost there. Jake parked outside and the two got out of the car, walking into the old building. They started the ascent up the stairs since the damn elevator had been broken for years. Dirk was starting to think that the thing would never be fixed.

"So, Strider, what's the plan for tonight?" Jake asked after a couple of flights.

Dirk shrugged, casually putting his hands in his pockets and turning around to face the other. He continued to walk backwards up the stairs as he talked. "I have a couple things in mind. Thought I'd educate you and show you a REAL movie, as much as I love seeing ten foot tall blue alien people rub all over each other."

Jake laughed. "You told me you liked Avatar!"

"I said it was tolerable."

They finally reached the Strider apartment and Dirk turned around to unlock the door with his key. As he pushed it open, he expected the place to be empty. Bro was at work and Dave and Karkat promised they'd be out. Instead, he was met with the sight of Dave and Karkat sitting on the futon, staring intently at the TV in front of them. Or, to be more specific, Dave was sitting on the floor between Karkat's legs, the other holding his hands back behind his head. Dave had the Playstation controller at his feet, his toes doing their best to move the joystick and press the buttons. The two finally looked up, staring at Dirk and Jake like deer in headlights.

The older Strider froze in the doorway, his eyebrows pulling together in confusion and disbelief. "What the fuck are you guys doing?"

Dave glanced back at the TV. "Well Karkat said there was no way I could beat Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2 with just my feet so I'm _obviously_ going to prove him wrong." Dave explained, as if that were to make any sense whatsoever.

Karkat suddenly shifted on the futon, holding Dave's hands even tighter. "Stop squirming!"

Dirk stared at him in disbelief. "As much as I'd love to admit how hilarious that is, we all use that controller and it's really fucking gross that you're putting your feet all over it."

"What's going on?" Jake piped up from behind Dirk, trying to peek around him to see inside.

"Oh shit you brought Jake over? He's just in time to see me annihilate this level."

Karkat scoffed. "You've barely even managed to skate three feet without wiping out, you're not annihilating shit."

"Huh, Dirk didn't mention that you two were going to be here." Jake wondered out loud, awkwardly rubbing at the back of his neck.

"Because they weren't supposed to be here." Dirk explained, crossing his arms. "I told you to be out of the apartment tonight." He reminded Dave, trying to keep his voice calm.

"Today's Friday?"

Dirk sighed through his nose. "Yes, Dave."

Jake laughed next to him, though it sounded a little forced. "We can just go somewhere else."

Dirk held up a hand to stop him, shaking his head. "No way, I called dibs on the place days ago.”

Dave freed his hands from Karkat's grip, abandoning his game. "Well where the hell are we supposed to go? It's already late."

"That's not really my problem. Go to your room or something." Dirk suggested.

As the two Striders talked, Jake took the opportunity to take a good look around the apartment, realizing that it actually hadn't changed much over the years. There was still the same DJ equipment pushed up against the wall, the futon, and all of the strange puppets scattered around the place. Maybe there weren't as many as before, but still there nonetheless. Curiously, he began to venture further inside, glancing into the messy kitchen and down the narrow hallway. The three of them were so wrapped up in their argument that they didn't even realize that Jake had wandered off.

When he looked inside the first open door on the left, he saw a floor littered with mechanical parts, half-finished robots, and a cluttered desk pushed against the far wall. He always knew that Dirk dabbled in mechanics, but he never knew the full extent of it. He always thought it was a casual hobby, and yet his room suggested it was much more than that. Jake couldn't help but be fascinated. He ventured further inside, careful to not step on anything as he walked up to his desk.

Every inch of the wooden surface was covered with stuff. Notes, drawings, materials, tools... Even his computer simply displayed long lines of code that he couldn't even begin to understand. The only thing that really stood out to him was a pair of Dirk's pointed shades that sat in the middle of it all.

As he tried to piece everything together, the overhead light turned on, startling him. He turned around to see Dirk standing in the doorway, his scarred eyebrow raised. Jake put a hand on his chest, taking a breath to calm down. "Cripes, you snuck up on me. I didn't even hear you come in."

"I didn't take you as being nosy, English." Dirk countered, going over to stand next to his boyfriend.

"Well I just wanted to take a look while you were talking to Dave. Are they still here or...?"

"No, I got them to leave." Dirk said, annoyance still apparent in his voice. "Sometimes I have to wonder if Dave ever listens to a single word I say."

Jake grinned. "Your incessant squabbling hasn't changed much since the last time I was here, either." He commented.

"In a way. Dave and I are cool most of the time, he just likes to push his fucking luck. I think he forgets where exactly he stands in the house."

"Righto." Jake agreed, even if he didn't quite understand what he meant. "And excuse me for being nosy, I just couldn't help but notice all of this... _stuff_ you have in here. What the dickens are you even working on?" He pressed, reaching out to gently brush his fingers against a particularly detailed drawing of a robot design.

"Oh, this?" Dirk said, trying to keep his voice casual and cool. "It's not much, really, just... something I've been playing around with for awhile."

"This is just 'playing around'? It looks like you're trying to hack the friggin government or something!"

"That'd probably be easier than what I'm trying to do." Dirk muttered, mostly to himself. Thankfully Jake didn't hear him. "But no, nothing like that. Like I said, it's just a side project, nothing too serious." He tried to dismiss.

"Huh." Jake responded simply, taking his hand away from the drawings. "That's too bad, I've always been interested in this stuff. I was kind of hoping I could sit in and watch you do one of your projects someday."

Dirk paused, his mouth setting into a thin line. He immediately wanted to backtrack and tell him that he actually would love to do that, but it would be weird. Fuck. "Maybe." He stated simply. "Anyway, you ready to start the movie?"

Jake nodded enthusiastically. "Absolutely! You know me, Strider, I'm always down to watch a film."

"Then you're in for a fucking treat, bro." Dirk promised, leading the other out of his room, turning the lights off and closing the door behind them. "We'll need some snacks first. Can't have a movie night without an obscene amount of snacks."

"I like the way you think!" Jake agreed.

The two of them stepped into the kitchen and Dirk immediately began searching for said snack items. He opened a couple cabinets and unfortunately found nothing, just some stray smuppets or other random shit. He didn't even know how those things ended up there since bro definitely wouldn't stow them away. Maybe Dave had done it at some point to piss him off. "Damn, guess bro hasn't gone grocery shopping yet." He mumbled, still moving throughout the kitchen, checking every cabinet. Jake stood awkwardly in the middle of the room, unsure if he should help or not. The place was such a mess he had to wonder how anyone could even properly cook or if they just used the microwave and stove.

Finally, Dirk spotted a box of popcorn pushed back in one of the tall cabinets. "There's the bitch." He announced, bringing it out. Thankfully the box was pretty much full so there would be enough for the both of them.

"So Dirk," Jake began, sitting on the kitchen table while the Strider put a bag into the microwave to cook. "You haven't even told me what we're watching tonight."

Dirk leaned back against the counter to face the other as they talked. "You remember Dane?"

"Your brother in Hollywood?" Jake asked with a grin. "Of course! He seems like a swell fellow, I've always wanted to meet him! Getting to pick apart the mind of an actual movie director is a dream of mine." He said, looking wistfully into the distance for a second.

"You could try. Don't know how much you'd actually get out of him, though."

"Really? Drat. I guess most artists keep their processes a secret."

Dirk's lips upturned into a small smile. "It's not that, actually. Dane’s an open book. He'll tell you anything you want to know but whether or not it's even comprehensible is debatable. I still don't even know how he does it, I think he just makes shit up as he goes. I've got mad respect for it, though, dude's an ironic genius. We all talk a big game but he’s really got it figured out."

Jake smiled sheepishly. "Just when I think I've got you Striders figured out you bring out the ol' irony card."

"You know it." Dirk responded, replacing the finished bag of popcorn with another to cook. He poured it into a bowl for them to share. "Dane's actually coming to visit soon so I thought we could pop in the first Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff movie. Dave keeps 'em stowed away in his room so I have to wait til he's gone so I can go in there and snag one."

"About time! I was waiting to watch it with you because I couldn't seem to find it online, even to buy..."

"Oh yeah, they're pretty much impossible to buy."

Jake blinked, tilting his head in confusion.

Dirk waved a hand dismissively. "Long story. I'll let Dane explain if you ever get the chance to meet him. We got our copies from the source and even then it took maybe about four tries before we got the real movie."

"Fascinating." Jake breathed.

After their last bag of popcorn was done and poured in the bowl, he handed it off to Jake and told him to go get comfortable in the living room while he went to grab the movie. While Dave's room may have been messier than usual, he always keeps his movies in the same place. They're displayed proudly on a shelf above his desk, along with some other SBaHJ stuff he had accumulated from Dane over the years. Dirk called it his shrine and the younger didn't even try to deny it. He reached up and grabbed _SBaHJ: The Moive_ and made his way back to the living room.

Dane made sure that even the DVD case was absolutely useless and irritating to deal with. It had about fifteen little clasps that needed to be opened in a correct order to get to the disc inside. Dirk popped it into the DVD player, the movie instantly starting with a montage of bro falling down all those stairs with no disc menu or introduction before it. He moved to collapse down next to Jake, settling in for the harrowing cinematic experience.

They shared some popcorn in silence for a while, Jake staring at the scene in front of him in both fascination and disbelief. About five minutes go by. "Say, Dirk... When is this fella going to reach the end of this staircase?" He asked, breaking the silence.

Dirk hummed. "Dunno, depends on the version we have. Usually it's ten minutes, but sometimes it can be up to an hour."

"Holy moly..."

"You gotta take the time to establish the antagonist of the movie, bro."

"The stairs?"

Dirk grinned. "You get it." After another minute of bro tumbling down the stairs, he spoke up again. "You know, they actually made Ben Stiller fall down multiple flights of stairs for this scene."

Jake's jaw dropped at the statement. "By jove, is he alright??"

Dirk laughed quietly. Jake was so gullible. "I don't know, this was the final shot they did." He continued to lie.

Jake didn't bother calling him out even if he didn't believe him. After sweet bro fell down all those stairs, the film continued on in all of its incomprehensible glory. It wasn't until they were about ten minutes into a distorted clip of Little Monsters featuring Howie Mandel that either of them spoke again. "You said your brother was coming to visit soon, right?" Jake asked. "Do you know when?"

The other shook his head. "No. Bro told us about it a few weeks ago but he must've gotten caught up in something 'cause we haven't heard from him since. He'll definitely show up at some point, though. Probably at a really inconvenient time like usual."

"Well when he finally gets here you should tell me! We've known each other for years and I've never even talked to the guy. I have so many questions for him."

"You're actually going to try to ask him questions about his movies? You're braver than I thought."

"Well I want to be in the know! He has to give me some sort of insight on this malarkey."

"I guess you could ask him, but I'd probably wait until bro's not around."

"Oh? Why's that?"

"Let's just say Dane is... obnoxious, for the lack of a better term. He somehow manages to annoy the shit out of bro."

"Really?? From what I've seen that man never even flinches. What the devil does he even say to get him so angry?" Jake asked, completely forgetting about the movie for the time being.

Dirk took a deep breath, mulling the question over. "I don't really know? It's just always been like that. Maybe it's just 'cause they're really close in age and just want to get under each other's skin. Soon enough everything in the goddamn apartment is going to be broken or ruined since the two of them can't go five minutes without pouncing on each other."

"Oh yeah...?" Jake pressed, that bit of information piquing his interest.

"Yeah. Dane gets his ass kicked every single time so I don't know why he keeps pushing his luck." Dirk commented.

"So you're saying that you got your fighting skills from him, then?" Jake said, a teasing lilt prominent in his voice.

Dirk's eyebrows shot up at that, looking over at the other who had leaned forward so he was sitting up properly on the futon, watching him. "What are you tryna say, English?" He challenged, narrowing his eyes behind his shades.

"Well you're implying that this place can handle a good tussle, yeah? I say we put it to the test!" Jake exclaimed, hopping up to his feet.

Finally getting what he was throwing down, the Strider smirked, quickly slipping off his shades and setting them onto the coffee table before getting up. Risking breaking them was worse than letting Jake see his eyes, anyway. No sooner than when he stood up, Jake lunged for him.

Even though Dirk braced himself, it didn't stop the other from knocking the wind out of him when their bodies collided and Jake knocked him to the ground. They landed heavily, the table and TV stand rattling slightly from the action. Dirk was sure they had downstairs neighbors and yet he didn't give a fuck. Jake had the upper hand on him, catching him off guard since things moved so quickly. He was heavy over Dirk as the two began to struggle with each other. Before Jake could grab his wrists and pin him down, Dirk wrapped his arms around his chest and swung one of his legs over his hip, using all of his strength to flip them over. He wasn't about to admit it out loud, but the blond was out of practice, forgetting just how much weight and muscle Jake had on him. When he flipped them over he straddled his waist, hoping that his body weight was enough to keep him pinned.

They continued on like that for a couple more minutes, coming dangerously close to bumping into the TV and bro's DJ equipment. Occasionally one or the other would grunt with exertion or laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation. Eventually, though, Dirk really wasn't any match for Jake, his natural size easily overpowering him in the end. Jake flipped them over one final time, straddling the Striders hips and grabbing a hold of his wrists. Dirk struggled against him for a couple more seconds before Jake leaned completely over him, effectively pinning each of his wrists next to his head.

The two of them stared at each other, grinning with their chests heaving. Dirk took a second to appreciate Jake's disheveled hair and how his glasses were slightly askew from rolling around on the floor. His green eyes reflected the light of the TV that was still making unimportant noise in the background. "I've finally managed to pin you, Strider. Your reputation has been besmirched!" He announced proudly.

(Art by Tumblr user [armintie](https://armintie.tumblr.com/))

"You just got lucky this time." Dirk countered, his voice quiet. To be fair, he was rightfully distracted, distantly becoming aware of just how close the two of them were. Since he wasn't worried about getting the one-up on him anymore, he was all too aware of just how good Jake's full weight felt against him, how he sat on his hips and how strong his hands were. Even if he didn't want to, he thought about that night two years ago, about his dream from the other night. Their faces were so close and he was looming over him in a way where Dirk's senses were just completely filled with _Jake_...

Jake's smile fell, tilting his head. "Are you alright, mate?" He asked.

Dirk's eyes flicked up from his lips back to his eyes. "Huh?" He asked, not-so-eloquently. "Oh, uh, I'm fine." He swallowed thickly.

Jake wasn't too convinced but took his word for it, nodding. "Alright, then." He let go of Dirk's wrists, unfortunately starting to move away so the Strider could properly sit up.

Dirk followed him, using his hands to push himself up. Jake didn't move far, instead just scooting back a bit more so he was sitting on the other's thighs rather than his hips. Despite the position change, they were still really close to each other. Close enough that Dirk couldn't shake those intruding thoughts from a moment ago.

Even if Jake didn't know exactly what he was thinking, he could definitely feel the tone shift in the room, staring at Dirk's face to try and get some sort of read on what the Strider was thinking. Frustratingly enough, Dirk was about as unreadable without his shades on; maybe even more so, if that was even possible.

The fact that Jake wasn't moving away was a good sign. Or, at least Dirk thought it was. It was pretty hard to think clearly when they were so close to each other. Even though Dirk had a plan going into the night, it was all flying out the window. He had that same fluttery feeling in his stomach that he was sure he would never get used to, no matter how much time he spent with Jake. It was the same feeling he would get before reaching out to hold his hand. The same feeling he got at the party before he...

Dirk leaned forward, closing the distance between them to press their lips together in a soft kiss.

He lingered there for a second, continuing to apply the slightest bit of pressure, his heart beating fast in his chest. Even with his eyes closed he could feel Jake tense against him, freezing in place. When he could tell that the other was going to make no move to reciprocate, he pulled away, his eyebrows pinched together in concern.

Much like at the party years ago, Jake watched him with wide eyes, having not said a single word. Dirk held his ground, anxiously waiting for a good sign. Maybe he would lean in like he did before, engaging him in another kiss that would put his worries at ease.

After a couple seconds of intense eye contact, Jake glanced away awkwardly, clearing his throat. "I-I say, Dirk, m-maybe we should get back to the film...?" He suggested, his voice small and sheepish, already starting to move off of him.

Dirk's heart sank. It was like a bucket of cold water had been poured over him, completely pulling him out of the hazy fog his mind had been in before. His throat felt tight. "Um... sure." He agreed, his voice meek.

After Jake rose to his feet, he extended a hand out to help get up as well. Dirk took it a little reluctantly, hoping that he wouldn't notice that his hands were shaking. Jake was still avoiding any sort of eye contact with him.

Once Dirk stood up he immediately grabbed his shades and slipped them back on, his lips setting in a thin line. The two of them sat back on the futon, a little further apart than they had been before. Even though they had turned their attention back to the movie, it was pretty much impossible for Dirk to pay attention to anything that was going on. He watched Jake out of the corner of his eye, trying to gather any more information about what had just happened. While Jake was usually an open book, Dirk was finding it really hard to get any sort of information just based on his facial expression, which seemed rather neutral as he stared ahead at the screen.

Okay, well, that obviously didn't go so well. It was a disaster, actually. Dirk had read the situation completely wrong, something he wasn't used to. As they sat in silence, his mind tore itself apart as he tried imagining the outcome to every single possible scenario. Should he say something? Bring it up? Ignore it? More than anything the miscalculation had just left him hopelessly confused with a lingering ache of dread.

Dirk looked down and noticed Jake's hand resting in the space between them. His heart still pounding, he nervously started to inch his own hand towards his. In that moment of uncertainty he may as well risk it all because at least then he could get an idea of what they should do moving forward. When they were close enough, his pinky softly brushed against Jake's, intertwining them. It was more of a question than anything.

He once again felt Jake tense and he thought about pulling his hand away. But, before he could, Jake moved so that he was covering the entirety of Dirk's hand with his own. He was warm, so much warmer than Dirk. After a few more seconds he even squeezed his hand, the tender gesture seeming to imply that not everything had been ruined. Or, at least Dirk liked to think that was what it meant.

A few minutes later, they heard a couple voices out in the hallway before someone unlocked the front door and pushed it open. Jake and Dirk both pulled their hands away from each other at the same time, looking up to see who it was.

Dave walked in first, in the middle of a conversation with Karkat. "I'm just saying that Gyarados should have totally been a dragon type. I mean, like, what the fuck? He’s _obviously_ a dragon. He doesn’t even fly!"

Karkat followed behind him, also absorbed in their argument as the door closed. "Because he's obviously fucking _flying_? He literally floats in like every single game!"

"He does not! There's no logical reason for Gyarados to be a flying type-" Dave stopped mid-sentence when he finally realized that Dirk and Jake were still there in the living room, staring at the two of them. "Oh, shit. I didn't realize you guys would still be here. It's been like four hours since we left the house."

Dirk resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "That's not even that long. We're in the middle of a movie." He said.

"What movie is over three hours long?" Dave asked, moving so that he could see the TV properly. He instantly recognized SBaHJ: The Moive from just one glance. "Oh fuck yes. About time English over here experienced some culture. A little pissed that you went into my room without even asking me but I guess I'll let it slide this time. Also hate to break it to ya but this is like a five hour movie so you guys still have a ways to go." He told them, going into the kitchen for a drink.

Behind him Karkat scoffed, shrugging off his coat and leaving it by the front door. "I refuse to be in here and see another second of this bullshit. I'm going to your room." He announced to Dave, almost like he fucking lived there or something. True to his word, the shorter swiftly left the rest of them in the living room, disappearing into the dark hallway.

"Oh! Um, that's quite alright, I'm sure Dirk and I can finish this another time." Jake said, moving to get up from the futon.

"You're leaving?" Dirk asked and stood up as well. He hoped that he didn't sound too disappointed.

Jake smiled easily, putting on his coat and making sure that he had his car keys and wallet. "Yeah, it is getting pretty late." He reasoned.

Dirk nodded, trying to seem casual as he put his hands in his pockets. "True..." He agreed quietly.

The blond made sure that Jake had everything as they made their way towards the front door. Jake paused, turning around to face the other, still smiling even if it seemed a little forced. "I bid you adieu, Strider."

"Yeah, I'll see you later." Dirk said.

Just like the day they had decided to go out, there were a few awkward seconds as they faced each other, not sure what to do. Dirk considered just taking a step back and letting the other go. However, before he could do so, Jake pulled him in for a short hug. It was tight and warm. It would have felt genuine if it weren't for the dread that hung heavily in the air between them. Dirk didn't even get the chance to return the embrace before Jake stepped back, nodding at him and saying one last quiet 'goodbye'. He opened the door and stepped out of the apartment, letting it close behind him with a quiet click.

Dirk stared after him for a second, his hands still in the pockets of his jeans. He sighed silently through his nose.

"What the hell was that about?" Dave spoke up from behind him.

Dirk turned around, completely forgetting that he was in the room. He had been standing there, sipping on some apple juice and watching the whole exchange. It made him feel self-conscious even if the moment had already passed. "What do you mean?" He asked, feigning innocence.

"Y'know, just... _that_. That whole exchange. It was weird. You guys _are_ together, right? Did you lie to me?" Dave asked.

Dirk scowled, crossing his arms. "Yes, Dave, we're together. Not everyone has been with their boyfriend for years. We're still figuring shit out, man." Dirk defended while still trying to sound unaffected.

Dave's silence indicated that he didn't quite believe him. "I'm just sayin' bro, that hug was awkward as shit."

The other dropped his arms back down to his sides, clenching his fists hard enough that his knuckles turned white. "Will you fuck off? No one asked you." He exclaimed, his voice rising in volume.

Dave shrank back from the aggressive tone, putting up a hand in surrender. "Okay okay, jeez..." He muttered, not expecting the other to jump down his throat like that. Even from behind his shades Dave could still tell that Dirk was glaring daggers at him, so he took that as a sign that he should abscond. He stepped quickly out of the kitchen into the hallway, hoping it didn't look too much like he was making a hasty escape.

He closed himself away into his room, leaning against the door and sighing. "Wow, that was weird. Did you hear that?" He asked his boyfriend.

Karkat had already made himself comfortable on Dave's bed, wrapping himself up in the blankets. His eyebrows pulled together and he looked up from his phone, shaking his head. "No, I didn't hear you. How could I when you were all the way in the kitchen?"

Dave hummed, taking one more drink of his juice before setting the bottle aside. He made his way over to his bed, starting the process of untangling his blankets from around Karkat so he could join him. He ignored the noise of protest from him. "I just told him that his goodbye with Jake was really awkward and he got super defensive." He explained, finally managing to get comfortable.

"Awkward how?" Karkat asked.

Dave thought for a second before he shook his head. He was probably overreacting about the whole thing. "Nothin', never mind. He'll get over it." He said, mostly trying to convince himself more than anything. It wasn't uncommon for Dirk to just be in a bad mood and be short with him. It would probably pass.

Karkat watched him uncertainly for a second, being able to tell that Dave was more worried about it than he was letting on. In the end, though, it really wasn't any of his business, and he probably couldn't help even if he wanted to. "Whatever, then." He settled for, shrugging a shoulder. He figured it was best to just drop the topic.

\--

Back in his room, Dirk collapsed down onto his chair, heaving a sigh. He took off his shades and slumped forward over his desk, propping his elbows up on all of his notes and papers as he rested his forehead in his hands. He stayed like that for a couple minutes, feeling the ghost of a headache starting to form.

Did he do something wrong? Was Jake mad at him? Was it just because he didn't ask first? Were things still okay between them...?

There was also Dave, who annoyingly always had to stick his nose in every single thing Dirk did. He definitely wasn't making the situation any better.

He tried to calm down, tried to convince himself that things were still fine. He and Jake were still cool, it was just a miscalculation. The next time they hung out everything would be normal and soon enough he wouldn't have to worry about whether or not it was okay to kiss his boyfriend. They would get past all the awkward soon enough... right?

Dirk shook his head. Dwelling on it all night probably wasn't the best idea. He reached over and clicked on his desk lamp, flooding the space with soft yellow light. He let himself get absorbed in his current project, hoping that working tediously with his hands would provide a good enough distraction to forget about Jake for the time being.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dirk's Bottom Thoughts will lead to his demise, the poor boy... 
> 
> Once again the rest of this story is pretty much written so expect a pretty speedy update. Thank you to everyone who has commented and left kudos so far, we really appreciate it! 
> 
> Don't forget to check out [Karcutie](https://www.instagram.com/karcutie/?hl=en) on Instagram and my [Tumblr](https://nagi-chan-san.tumblr.com/)
> 
> EDIT: New art added! For my birthday on April 24th, Tumblr user [armintie](https://armintie.tumblr.com/) drew the amazing DirkJake art and gave me permission to put it in the fic. Go ahead and check 'em out!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God who knew formatting pesterlogs would be so tedious. 
> 
> Yes! Hello! New chapter! Not much to say other than, yes, this is four chapters now, sorry (should I be sorry? lol). I really didn't want the last chapter to be 20k so we split it up into two. The fourth chapter is completely finished so this will have a pretty speedy update :)
> 
> At long last... Dane makes an appearance. 
> 
> Once again please leave kudos and COMMENT if you guys are enjoying the story/art. I've loved reading your comments up to this point, thank you!

It was a cold night in Houston. Before Dirk went out he tried to layer up with a long-sleeved shirt and a thicker zip up hoodie that he rarely ever touched. He was in another part of town to pick up some parts for his current project, and since bro couldn’t give him a ride, he had to endure all the walking and public transportation. It was the first time he had left the house in days and it was pretty disorienting.

With his bag of supplies hanging off of one arm, he kept his hands in the pockets of his hoodie, impatiently waiting for the bus that was supposed to arrive like ten minutes ago. When it finally did round the corner, it pulled up in front of him and stopped with an ear piercing squeak. The driver promptly opened the doors for him and Dirk hopped up the short steps, nodding to acknowledge him before venturing further into the vehicle. He just barely managed to grab onto one of the bars and make sure his feet were planted firmly in place before they jerked forward to merge back into traffic.

He pulled his phone out of the back pocket of his jeans to pass the time, aimlessly scrolling through social media. Not much was new. Dane hadn't posted anything on his socials in over a month (about the time he told bro he was coming to visit) and Dave was just uploading the shit he usually did (that being incomprehensible garbage or photos of Karkat, usually looking annoyed). Overall nothing too interesting.

As he exited out of Instagram, his thumb hesitated over the pesterchum icon for a solid second before he decided to open it. It showed that Jake was online, and yet Dirk hadn't heard from him since the last time they hung out. The Strider scrolled through their old conversations, mouth set in a thin line. After another few seconds of silently debating with himself, he started to type.

\-- timaeusTestified [TT] began pestering golgothasTerror [GT] \--

TT: Hey.  
TT: I know you've probably been busy with whatever the fuck lately but The Moive still remains to be finished.  
TT: We didn't even get to the climax where Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff are unable to wrap up the story because of their inability to perform basic motor functions.  
TT: It's riveting.

Dirk waits about a minute for a reply, anxiety rising up inside of him until he sees the typing icon from Jake.

GT: Sorry mate ive been positively swamped with work and midterms!  
GT: That surely does sound like a pickle though. I cant even fathom how theyd be able to make it out of that one!

Dirk skeptically read over the messages a couple times. Midterms? In the beginning of February?

TT: Right.  
TT: Just know that you're missing out bro.  
GT: I dont doubt that!

Dirk's thumb hovered over the keyboard, trying to think of a way to continue the conversation naturally. Unfortunately, he couldn’t, and Jake hadn’t said anything else either. He frowned, locking his phone and pocketing it for the time being. He was almost at his stop, anyway.

He got off the bus about a block away from their apartment building, walking fast to get out of the cold. It had taken him a significant amount of courage just to send Jake a message at all, and in the end, the whole exchange had been pretty anticlimactic. Dirk liked to think he was giving Jake the benefit of a doubt and that he really was just busy with work and school. It wasn't completely unrealistic. Even though Jake's job was rarely ever busy, and midterms weren't supposed to be for another month...

He shook his head, looking down at his feet as he walked. Whatever, it was fine. Everything was fine.

He took the stairs two at a time to get up to the apartment, shifting to hold the bag in his other hand so he could get his keys. When he stepped inside, he barely caught the tail end of a conversation that Dave and Karkat were having as they sat together on the futon. Of fucking course they were there. Karkat was over every single fucking day and he shouldn't have expected anything less. He subconsciously scowled, letting the door shut behind him with a quiet click.

Dave stopped whatever the hell he was saying mid-sentence, perking up at his entrance. He sat up straighter, nodding in Dirk's direction. "Hey, man." He greeted casually.

"Hey." Dirk responded flatly.

"So me and Karkat were tryin' to find something to watch and I got to thinkin'," Dave began, his head following Dirk as he moved further into the apartment. "There was an anime you wanted to show me, right? Joe's Crazy Adventures or whatever the fuck?"

Next to him, Karkat tilted his head in confusion, opening his mouth to say something. Dave quickly held up a hand to quiet him before he could get it out.

Dirk's eye twitched behind his shades, resisting the urge to sigh loudly. "It’s Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure. And no, not now." He said tersely.

Dave deflated. "Why not? We'll even let you sit on the futon with us so you don't have to sit in the chair." The younger tried to bargain. To emphasize his point he snaked an arm behind Karkat's back, grabbing the small of his waist to pull him closer, moving him so that he was practically sitting on Dave's lap.

The shorter made a noise of surprise at suddenly being manhandled, shooting Dave a glare even though he wasn't even looking at him. He wanted to tell him off but Dave's sudden mood shift made him curious. He bit his tongue, glancing between the two brothers.

Dirk stared at them for a couple seconds. His expression was completely neutral and yet Karkat could _feel_ the negative energy radiating off of him, making his shoulders tense up. Dave, meanwhile, just continued to stare right back, waiting in anticipation and hoping that the other would take him up on his offer.

"Sorry, I'm busy." Dirk finally said, though he didn't really sound sorry at all. Without another word he stalked off down the hallway, disappearing into his room and letting the door close with a loud bang (though not necessarily loud enough to be a slam). Dave jumped slightly at the sound. After another second of silence they could even hear the older Strider heavily set down his bag of materials on his desk with a metallic clatter.

"... Damn, I really thought that would work." Dave spoke up first, sounding genuinely surprised by how the interaction played out.

Karkat was still lost. "What the fuck is going on? What's his problem?" He asked.

"I... don't know? He's just been holed up in his room for the last few days. I thought if we watched one of his weird animes together he would cheer up."

"And you were going to drag me into it?" Karkat clarified, raising his eyebrows in disbelief. "You could at least fucking warn me. That was awkward as shit. Believe it or not but I don't actually want to get swept up in your weird family drama." Karkat informed, squirming slightly so that he could move off of Dave's lap and sit down properly again, crossing his arms.

"Eh, he'll get over it eventually... I think." Dave added after a second of thought, still keeping an arm around Karkat even if he did move off of him.

In general, though, he did sound pretty unbothered, and Karkat had to wonder how he was acting so casual. The look that Dirk had given both him _and_ Dave was enough to make his skin crawl. He didn't fucking know the guy, though, and Dave had obviously grown up with him so maybe _he_ was the one interpreting the situation wrong. Karkat still couldn't fucking figure out Dave's brothers even after years of knowing them. He would just have to follow along with what Dave wanted to do since he didn’t have any better ideas.

"Anyway, we could still watch some anime?" Dave suggested.

It took Karkat a second to process the question since his train of thought was derailed. They really didn't have anything better to do so he just nodded, albeit a little reluctantly. "Fine, but I get to pick the show this time. You always end up making me watch Naruto and I'm sick of it." He stated, reaching for the Playstation controller.

"Dude what you don't like Naruto?" Dave asked, shock apparent in his voice. "What isn't dope about watching a bunch of twelve year olds beat the shit out of each other? What isn't riveting about the blooming romance between Naruto and Sasuke?"

Karkat rolled his eyes. "I don't even know if _you_ like the show. You always fall asleep every time we watch it."

"It's soothing."

"Well I'm going to show you something that's actually good. Get ready to experience some culture." The other promised, scrolling through a list of anime before he landed on Fruits Basket. He started episode one with no more hesitation.

Dave laughed, shifting down on the futon so he could lay his head in Karkat's lap, his feet and legs hanging off the side. He made sure to remove his shades so that they wouldn't get smashed, setting them gently on the table. "I'm always down to get fucking cultured, bro. I'm so ready for this shitty romcom to just wash over me and transform me into a new person."

Karkat shushed him, mostly as a joke, finally letting himself relax and sit back for the first time since Dirk left the room.

\--

\-- timaeusTestified [TT] began pestering golgothasTerror [GT] \--

TT: Just braved the Houston public transportation system so that I could get some supplies for my current project.  
TT: Hopefully it should be the last time I have to go out for anything.  
TT: There was a guy a few seats away from me that looked like he had been dead for hours.  
TT: I thought about checking to see if he was asleep but it was more fun to try and see if I could figure it out from a distance.  
TT: That's someone else's problem to deal with later, I guess.  
TT: Regardless, I made it back mostly intact and I can only hope I'm not carrying some kind of disease.  
TT: I'm finally at a point where I can really crack down on this project.  
TT: All the planning's done and I have everything I need for the time being.  
TT: You're always welcome to come over and sit with me while I work on it.  
TT: This shit is going to be so fucking revolutionary. It's going to change the fucking world and you can have a front row seat.  
GT: That does sound mighty exciting but things are still extremely busy here on my end :(  
TT: Still? Damn, English.  
TT: How far behind are you in your classes?  
GT: Farther than id like to admit!  
GT: Good luck though im cheering you on!  
TT: Thanks.  
TT: I'll try to update you on how things are going.

\-- timaeusTestified [TT] ceased pestering golgothasTerror [GT] \--

\--

Dirk was rapidly losing his patience. He had no idea what time it was. He'd been hunched over his desk for hours, maybe even days, for all he knew. He narrowed his eyes at the computer screen, which had been displaying the same exact error screen every time he tried running his new program. No matter how many times he scrolled back up into the complicated code to fix mistakes and add things, it still refused to work. He let out a long sigh through his nose, his eyes rapidly scanning the same thing for the millionth time for the mistake.

After a minute of searching, he realized that maybe he just needed to leave it alone for a while, as difficult as that was. He minimized the program, wheeling his chair over a few inches so that he was in front of his work space instead of the computer. He pushed his shades up to rest on his head, squinting against the warm light of his lamp for a second as his eyes adjusted. He started to examine the pair of shades that sat on his desk, surrounded by a somewhat messy but overall organized plethora of parts. His orange eyes flicked back and forth from his drawings to the task at hand, working carefully with nimble fingers.

From outside his closed door, he could hear the unmistakable sounds of Dave and Karkat in the living room, talking endlessly at each other. While it was pretty much a given that Dirk could always hear Karkat no matter what level he talked at, even Dave seemed so wrapped up in the conversation that his voice was louder than usual.

His jaw clenched, trying to ignore them. He really wished he could just put on his headphones and drown them out, and yet one of the speakers had started to go out a few days ago. Besides, he liked working in silence. The apartment was relatively quiet until Dave started bringing over his boyfriend every fucking day. It was really starting to get on Dirk's nerves.

About a minute later, he heard Dave make a startled noise followed instantly by the loud thud of something hitting the wall. Dirk jumped, effectively dropping one of the tiny pieces he had been holding precariously between his fingers. He tried to catch it before it clattered to the ground with a high-pitched cling, and yet he was too slow. He looked down, not immediately seeing it among the sea of other random shit that littered his floor. He groaned quietly, collapsing back in his chair. He went to run a hand through his hair and accidentally bumped his shades, reminding him to slip them back on.

Following the thud he could hear Karkat laugh and say something to Dave but it was too muffled to make out exactly what it was. Dirk scowled, turning his chair around and rising to his feet. He went over to his door, swinging it open with more force than usual. The sound of both of them laughing became clearer as he stepped out into the hallway, walking towards the main room with his fists clenched at his sides. He rounded the corner, glancing into the living room to assess the situation.

Karkat was sitting on the futon and Dave was awkwardly standing in the middle of the room, the TV on and displaying a Wii sports game. The crowd in the game booed as Dave's character kept missing all the balls thrown his way, probably due to the fact that the idiot had accidentally thrown the Wii remote across the room and into the opposite wall. Thankfully there wasn’t a hole, but it had left a noticeable dent.

Dave and Karkat both stopped laughing, turning towards Dirk as he entered the room. His younger brother kept smiling, though. "Oh shit, dude, you totally fuckin’ missed it I was playin' Wii tennis and I forgot to put the strap on my wrist and-"

"Will you two shut up? You're being loud as fuck. I'm trying to work on something." He demanded, cutting off Dave in the middle of his sentence. His voice was clear and stern, though not loud enough to be considered yelling.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Karkat shrink back slightly, bringing his knees up to his chest and wrapping his arms around them to keep them there. He awkwardly avoided looking at him by bowing his head down.

Dave's smile fell slightly and his eyebrows pulled together in confusion. "Okay...? Sorry, didn't realize you needed complete silence to work on your mysterious project you won't tell me anything about."

Dirk crossed his arms, still frowning. "I don't really think you'd care even if I did tell you." He countered.

"No way man I totally care about your robots. Just 'cause I don't know what the fuck you're saying when you explain how you make them doesn't mean I don't care."

Dirk resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Whatever. Just be quiet." He concluded, turning around to disappear back into his room. He shut the door heavily behind him.

Back in the living room, Dave and Karkat watched after him for a second, the TV still exclaiming Dave's loss every few seconds. Finally, they looked at each other. "That was weird..." Dave muttered.

"No shit." Karkat agreed, his voice significantly quieter but still holding the same aggressive tone it always had. "That's what you fucking get for being an idiot and throwing the goddamn Wii remote through the wall. There are safety straps on those for a reason, you imbecile." Karkat shifted on the sofa to put his feet back down on the ground.

"Still, he hasn't done anything like that for a long time." Dave wondered out loud, going to pick up the tossed remote from where it had fallen to the floor. He made sure to securely fasten the wrist strap that time before turning back around.

Karkat thought for a second, frowning at his lap. He had started to notice a growing tension in the Strider apartment for the last week or so, and it was getting pretty hard to ignore. He distantly remembered something Dave had said to him that night when Jake and Dirk were in the apartment together… something about Dirk getting defensive? Over him and Jake? Whatever it was, he brushed it off at the time, not thinking anything of it. Though, ever since then, things started to feel off. He wanted to think it didn’t involve him directly, and yet he didn't miss the negative vibes Dirk seemed to give off towards him specifically. It was starting to make him uncomfortable because he can't think of a single reason why he'd be mad at him, other than being too loud because Dave threw the fucking wii remote into the wall...

"Hey man, you okay?" Dave asked, snapping him out of his thoughts. He looked over just as Dave went to sit next to him on the futon.

He nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking about how fucking bad you are at Wii sports. How can you be bad at Wii sports? It's literally the easiest game on the fucking planet." He said, reaching out to grab the second remote on the table in front of them, planning on showing him how it's really done. "Oh! That's right, maybe I shouldn't be surprised. You still couldn't get a perfect score in Elf Bowling. Pathetic."

"Dude come on, that game's fucking rigged!" Dave defended, "Just because the game is shitty does not mean it’s easy. No matter what, even if you throw the ball down in the perfect direction every single time, it won’t let you completely down all those elves. It probably also has something to do with that Santa you're playing as. That guy's shady as fuck. I don't know all the lore behind the Elf Bowling universe but I bet it runs really deep."

"Holy _fuck_ stop talking." Karkat pleaded, picking the game he wanted to play. "Sorry I even brought it up, didn't think you'd get so butt hurt over your Elf Bowling score."

"Come on Karkat you _know_ that means a lot to me, don't even joke."

His boyfriend rolled his eyes passionately. "Whatever, now shut up. I don't want your brother to come out here and yell at us again."

\--

\-- timaeusTestified [TT] began pestering golgothasTerror [GT] \--

TT: Hey.  
TT: Just saw that the arcade we go to is offering a special this weekend.  
TT: Couples who sign up for laser tag get a pretty sweet discount.  
TT: Thought maybe we could sign up together and see if we can absolutely destroy some high schoolers who have no idea who they're up against.  
TT: Plus you'd have the chance to redeem yourself after last time.  
TT: It'd be a win-win regardless.  
GT: Sorry dirk i really wish i could.  
GT: I need that time off work to study.  
TT: Huh.  
TT: Are you actually studying to get your PhD or some shit and just didn't tell me?  
TT: Your head must be fucking buried in those books, bro.

\-- golgothasTerror [GT] is now an idle chum! --

\-- timaeusTestified [TT] ceased pestering golgothasTerror [GT] \--

\--

It was pouring rain outside and the Strider apartment was relatively quiet. Karkat sat on the futon with his legs crossed and his old laptop propped up in his lap. Beside him, Dave had his head leaned comfortably on his shoulder, his breathing slow and even with sleep as he dozed.

They had started out trying to do their math homework online together since they had a test coming up soon, but Dave didn't make it that far. They had probably been working for about half an hour before he started nodding off, finding it impossible to focus on whatever they were doing. He eventually couldn't stand it, setting aside his laptop and scooting down so that he could lean his head on his boyfriend's shoulder. Karkat wanted to protest and _insist_ that they study, but Dave didn't get much sleep, and he didn't want to deny him a rare nap.

Karkat made sure to gently remove Dave's shades before he smooshed them against his shoulder since that would be uncomfortable for both of them. Dave barely managed to mutter a sleepy thank you before he was out, his body heavy and warm against Karkat's side.

With Dave asleep, Karkat just tried to focus on getting as much of his work done as possible. Dave's soft breathing and the rain hitting the window provided a nice ambient noise for him to work as he read articles and finished online quizzes. It was actually getting pretty hard to fight off a nap himself. He was so comfortable.

Somewhere close by, Karkat heard the sound of footsteps and someone fumbling with some keys. His shoulders tensed up, straining to hear over the sound of low thunder and rain. He heard the unmistakable sound of someone putting a key into the lock and turning the deadbolt with a quiet thunk.

Karkat jumped at the sound, starting to scoot away from where Dave was leaning on him without even thinking. Dave's head fell to the side and he woke with a start, making a confused noise in the back of his throat. Karkat ignored him for a second, whipping his head in the direction of the apartment's front door, waiting anxiously to see if bro or Dirk was going to walk inside. When no one came in and he realized the sound had come from someone across the hall, his shoulders dropped as he relaxed.

Karkat finally looked back at Dave as he started to sit upright, rubbing at his sensitive eyes as they squinted against the gray light pouring through the window. Karkat leaned forward to grab his shades, handing them to the blond. Dave made another sleepy noise to thank him and slipped them on. “What’s up...?" He asked, his voice slightly husky.

Karkat felt a pang of guilt in his chest, though he tried to ignore it. "Nothing, I just thought one of your brothers was coming home. I didn't mean to wake you up." He said sincerely.

The youngest Strider yawned, barely conscious enough to process what Karkat was saying. "Bro…? He doesn’t give a fuck. He’s definitely walked in on worse.” He murmured, his words slightly slurred together.

Karkat felt a hot blush rise to his cheeks from being reminded of the horrible memories he'd rather forget. "That's not what I meant! I was talking about Dirk, you idiot."

"Dirk? He doesn't give a fuck either."

The other gave him an incredulous look. "Bullshit. He's told us to be quiet or leave the apartment on at least five different occasions now and I feel like every time he sees us together it puts him in a pissy mood."

Dave paused to mull that one over, finally starting to wake up. Dirk _had_ been in a super bad mood, almost to the point where it was seriously starting to worry him. He just kept telling himself that Dirk would get over whatever funk he was in, and yet all he did was lock himself away in his room to work on that stupid project. Oh, and give him and Karkat shit for being in the apartment. Even if he wanted to address it, he had no idea how, so he just had to settle for waiting it out. "You're reading too much into it," Dave reassured, and the statement held a fair amount of truth, as Karkat overthought everything. "It'll pass. He has been weird lately but I'm pretty sure it doesn't have anything to do with us."

Karkat wanted to believe Dave, he really did... It was just getting to the point where he felt really uncomfortable every time he was over, and he was extra jumpy any time they weren’t alone in the apartment. He already had no idea how to act around bro, and then Dirk had to go and contribute to that as well. "I don't believe you one bit, but then again I have no idea how your fucking family works." Karkat admitted. "I could go the rest of my life studying your brothers and I'll never find out what their fucking deal is."

Dave smiled a little at that and his shoulders shook with a quiet laugh. "Join the club, man." He stated, yawning and stretching his arms above his head. "Guess my nap is over."

"Now you can get back to doing _math_. You know, that thing that you _really_ need to study for? I'll help you today but don't get used to it." Karkat offered reluctantly.

"Aww, you _do_ care." Dave said, reaching over to grab his laptop he had set aside earlier. He scooted over so the two were sitting close again as they got back to studying.

\--

\-- timaeusTestified [TT] began pestering golgothasTerror [GT] \--

TT: Hey.  
TT: When are your midterms? I don't think you ever told me.  
TT: I think I'm starting to go crazy in this damn apartment.  
TT: I feel like I've barely made any progress on this project since Dave and Karkat are here every single day.  
TT: Apparently they're physically incapable of being quiet for more than ten minutes.  
TT: I was thinking that once you're done with your midterms we could get out of town.  
TT: Go for a road trip or something.  
TT: We'll just stock up on the shittiest food and snacks we can find and just start driving.  
TT: That's adventurous right?  
TT: ...  
TT: Jake?

\-- golgothasTerror [GT] is now an idle chum! --

TT: Christ.

\-- timaeusTestified [TT] ceased pestering golgothasTerror [GT] \--

Dirk frowned as he read the messages over again, his hands tense as they hovered over the keys on his keyboard. It felt like every damn time he managed to catch Jake when he was online he'd either become idle or just log off completely. At the very least he used to tell him when he had to leave, and yet he wasn't even doing that anymore. It was downright infuriating.

He closed out of the conversation with Jake, checking to see who else was online. His mouse hovered over his contacts, stopping on Roxy's chum handle. It had been a long time since they talked and he debated whether or not he should shoot them a message. After a few seconds of internal debate, he sighed quietly, instead moving his mouse over to exit out of pesterchum altogether. He didn't want to bother them.

He opened his coding program, checking how much he still had left to do. He had finally managed to get rid of the error message and he was almost to the point where he had to start implementing the actual AI software. It was a big process and the more he thought about it, the more he didn't really feel like doing it right that second. It probably wouldn't hurt to take a break and come back to it later with fresh eyes. Maybe it was a good idea to just veg out and binge a new anime or something.

He grabbed his phone and turned off the desk lamp before leaving his room, closing the door behind him. He already knew that Dave and Karkat were in the living room, but he wasn’t going to let that deter him.

The two were sitting beside each other, sharing a blanket and watching a movie. At least they were being quiet for once.

Dirk walked further into the room, standing directly in front of them to block the TV. "Move. I want to use the TV." He demanded simply.

Karkat frowned. "Can we at least finish this movie first? It's literally already half over-"

"No." Dirk interrupted him, his expression unchanging.

Karkat's mouth shut with an audible click, his body tense as he narrowed his eyes at the older Strider. It was very clear that he wasn't going to budge no matter what he said, so he reluctantly began to move off the futon to stand. It definitely wasn’t the first time they’d been kicked out of the living room. "Fine."

"Now wait, hold up." Dave interjected, moving to sit up properly. "C'mon man, don't talk to Karkat like that. We'll fuckin' move when the movie's over." Dave defended, his expression also remaining relatively neutral as he watched Dirk.

Karkat was already at the threshold of the hallway, frozen in place from the sheer tension in the room. He glanced between the two of them nervously. "It's fine, we'll finish it later-"

"Alright, we'll fucking fight for it, then." Dirk stated confidently.

Dave's eyebrows shot up to his hairline at the challenge, rendered speechless for a second. "Seriously?" He asked, his voice much less confident than it was before.

"Seriously."

Dave's mouth opened and closed a couple times, trying to think of something to say. He genuinely could not tell if Dirk was joking or not. His posture seemed relatively relaxed, though he could pretty much feel Dirk's eyes staring him down behind his shades. They hadn't seriously sparred over anything in years. The small fights over the stupid gaming chair every once in awhile could barely be considered anything, especially since Dave had just started to accept his fate. Even if he was unsure, Dave still liked to think that he was just fucking around. It wouldn't be the first time he'd pull something out of left field to mess with him. "Well, okay then." He finally settled on, a light-hearted tone to his voice. He got up from the futon, taking a couple steps so that he was on the other side of the coffee table and still standing in front of Dirk. "You sure you’re ready for this, bro? Even though it's been awhile, you should probably reconsider. The futon is sacred ground and I'm not just going to give that up so easily-"

Dirk didn't even wait for him to finish his sentence. He surged forward, quickly side-stepping and then spinning himself around so that he was behind Dave. Before the other could even comprehend what had happened, Dirk took his arm and bent it so that it was pinned against his back. Dave went to exclaim something in surprise but Dirk didn't even let him finish, using one of his legs to kick Dave's feet out from under him. The younger fell to his knees with an audible thud that shook the apartment and he fell so quickly that his shades flew off of his face, landing on the carpeted ground with a soft click.

Karkat jumped as soon as Dirk grabbed for Dave, and once he saw his boyfriend fall to his knees, he wanted to step forward to help him. Though, thankfully, the rational part of his brain held him back. There was no way he could do anything, even if he wanted to. He shrank back against the far wall, mouth open in surprise as he watched on, worried.

"Holy shit _ow_ -" Dave went to say, though once again, Dirk didn't let him finish. With a firm grip still on Dave's arm, he used his body weight to pin him to the ground and hold him down. Dave made another strained sound, the pressure on his bent arm bordering on painful. He turned his head so that only his cheek was smooshed against the carpet. "Uncle! Uncle!" He exclaimed, his free arm trying uselessly to push himself up and away from Dirk.

Dirk must have finally gotten the message, releasing his vice grip on Dave's arm. He stood and took a couple steps back, giving Dave some space. The younger pushed himself up so that he was sitting on his knees. He leaned forward and grabbed his shades that were laying on the floor, glad to see that they weren't damaged at all. His legs were a little shaky when he stood up. He pointedly brushed himself off, shooting a glare in Dirk's direction.

Dirk stared back, a smug look on his face.

Dave didn't say anything else, quickly moving so that he could walk into the hallway and towards his room. Karkat watched Dirk for another second before he turned on his heels, scrambling to follow Dave.

After the two of them shut themselves away in Dave's room, there was a thick silence in the air for a few seconds. Dave was rubbing at the wrist that Dirk had pinned against his back and his eyes were still exposed since he hadn't put his shades back on yet. Karkat hovered around him, unsure of what to do or say.

Dave paused, looking at Karkat. "... I think I greatly underestimated my position in this household."

After Karkat processed the comment, he let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. "Jesus Christ, Dave, that's what you're fucking worried about?”

"Man I had no idea he was going to go fucking beast mode like that. Could'a warned a guy. Who fuckin' knew he was so strong? It has to be because he still spars with Jake. I think my wrist is gonna bruise." Dave said, the ever-present light-hearted tone still in his voice as he continued to assess his arm.

Karkat rolled his eyes. "You're such a baby. Let me see it." He demanded, reaching over to grab Dave's arm. He pushed up his sleeve and looked over his pale wrist, not really seeing any tell-tale signs of serious damage or bruising. He could feel Dave’s hand shaking, though. Probably from adrenaline. He pulled his sleeve back to where it was before. "You're fine, drama queen. He didn't break your fucking wrist."

“You never know, dude. I bruise like a summer peach."

Karkat watched him carefully, realizing how vulnerable his face looked without his shades on. While he was joking about the whole situation, the look in his eyes was still unsure and his voice was the slightest bit shaky. It didn't seem to be such a big deal that it downright scared him, but Karkat did know that it had been a long time since the two had done anything like that. It must have caught Dave off guard and his mind was still reeling to process it. "Yeah, that was pretty fucking uncalled for. Do you believe that your brother's being an ass now?" He asked, crossing his arms. It probably wasn't the best time to pull an 'I told you so', but he just couldn't help himself.

Dave laughed quietly, slipping his shades back on. "Yeeeah, that really wasn't cool. I don't really give a fuck that he almost broke my arm, I can't believe he mouthed off to you like that."

"Oh my god that’s literally not important at all. I don't give a fuck about that. He's just being an asshole in general."

"Can't really deny that fact anymore."

After Karkat realized the situation really wasn't that serious, he felt a lot more relaxed, even if he was still worried about what Dirk's fucking deal was. He never really thought he'd witness some drama between the Striders but, there he was, and he just kind of had to deal with it.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket to check the time, frowning when he saw that it was getting late. Usually he would have texted one of his parents to let them know he was going to be home soon, and yet he didn't want to leave. Dirk was still sitting out in the living room, and while he knew that he could just slip out without the other acknowledging him, he just wanted to stay with Dave. The other would probably appreciate that, too.

"Can I stay over tonight?" He asked, already knowing what the answer would be.

The other grinned. "Oh fuck yeah, sleepover on a school night!"

"I've stayed over plenty of times before, how does it being a school night make any difference?" Karkat asked, moving to sit at the foot of Dave's bed so he could text his parents.

"I dunno man it's, like, totally taboo. You've only ever stayed over on the weekends unless we're on break or something. It makes it extra exciting."

"Technically we're fucking adults and we can do whatever the hell we want on a school night, even if we haven't graduated just yet. It's also not a sleepover. Sleepovers are what you do when you're ten years old and you invite over your dumbass friends to tell fake ghost stories and send each other terribly drawn dicks over pictochat." Karkat clarified.

"Doesn't sound too far off from what we do nowadays." Dave said, sitting down next to him.

"... True." Karkat agreed after a second of thought. It didn't take long for his parents to message him back and say that it was okay for him to stay over, so he borrowed some of Dave's clothes to sleep in for the night. Neither of them brought up the Dirk situation again and Karkat just had to trust Dave to deal with it later.

\--

\-- turntechGodhead [TG] began pestering carcinoGenecist [CG] \--

TG: hey im going to be a couple minutes late meeting you in the parking lot  
TG: i forgot my headphones in my locker and i definitely need those if im going to survive the weekend  
TG: also we should stop somewhere for food before we get to my place  
TG: i forgot i was out of lunch money and i was only able to get some aj and a granola bar  
TG: the granola bar left a lot to be desired but at least the aj was dope  
CG: ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS???  
TG: serious about how dope aj is?  
TG: is that even a question  
TG: come on man you know this how could you doubt my genuine love for aj  
CG: NOT THE APPLE JUICE YOU FUCKING IDIOT.  
CG: DID YOU FORGET THAT YOUR BROTHER *LITERALLY* TRIED TO BREAK YOUR ARM LAST NIGHT? AND THE FACT THAT I'M PRETTY SURE HE HATES US?  
CG: THERE'S NO WAY WE'RE GOING OVER TO YOUR PLACE. COMPLETELY OUT OF THE FUCKING QUESTION.  
TG: wth last night you told me i was being a baby about the whole thing  
TG: and then you stayed the night  
TG: so obviously it didnt freak you out that much  
CG: YEAH WELL I'VE HAD TIME TO THINK ABOUT IT AND IT DID FREAK ME OUT, ESPECIALLY SINCE WE DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT HIS GODDAMN PROBLEM IS.  
CG: I JUST THINK IT'D BE IN OUR BEST FUCKING INTEREST TO GO SOMEWHERE ELSE.  
TG: man youre reading too much into it  
TG: dirk just gets like that sometimes im not gonna let it freak me out hell get over it  
TG: plus not to be an ass but im pretty sure youre not gonna offer up your place or anything so  
TG: that doesnt leave us with a lot of options  
CG: ...  
CG: I GUESS YOU'RE RIGHT.  
CG: STILL. WE DON'T HAVE TO HANG OUT. I CAN JUST WAIT TO SEE YOU ON MONDAY.  
TG: aw man no way that blows  
TG: just come over itll be fine i promise  
TG: bros going to be home tonight so dirk wont bother us  
CG: THE PRESENCE OF YOUR OLDEST BROTHER DOES NOT MAKE ME FEEL BETTER IN ANY WAY.  
CG: IN FACT THAT MAY BE EVEN WORSE AS I STILL HAVE NO IDEA HOW THE FUCK TO ACT AROUND THAT MAN.  
TG: im just saying hell be there to be a mediator if dirk tries any shit  
TG: plus you know bro he doesnt usually bug us anyway so itll just be a normal hangout  
TG: please?  
CG: ALRIGHT. FINE. WE'LL GO.  
CG: I SWEAR IF DIRK JUMPS YOU AGAIN I'M JUST GOING TO LET HIM DO IT AND POSSIBLY EVEN CHEER HIM ON SINCE YOU'RE BEING A DUMBASS.  
TG: sick  
TG: see you in a few

\-- turntechGodhead [TG] ceased pestering carcinoGenecist [CG] \--

\--

"I thought you said your oldest brother would be here?" Karkat asked once they were in the apartment, only being met with an empty living room and silence.

“He is. He's probably just in the shower or something." Dave said, tossing his backpack and jacket by the front door. It was the weekend so there was no reason he’d have to look at it for two whole days.

Karkat did the same, though he still felt on edge about the whole thing. He knew that Dirk didn't have a job and Dave said he'd dropped his college classes so there was a pretty good chance he was in the apartment, shut away in his room. He wondered if they should bet on how long it would take for him to come out and demand for them to leave or some other bullshit equivalent. He really had to wonder whether or not bro being around would really change any of that. Only time would tell.

"You wanna play some Tony Cawk?" Dave asked, kicking his shoes off and collapsing comfortably onto the futon, grabbing the TV remote and a controller.

"I really wish you would stop calling it that." Karkat answered, sitting next to his boyfriend. "But fine, I don't really care."

"Sweet. I've been working on speed running this certain level where you grind on a specific railing for a few seconds before doing this combo that lets you phase through the games map and..."

Karkat effectively tuned him out as he rambled on, just humming and nodding when appropriate. He started up the game and spent the better part of an hour trying to accomplish the process he had described in extreme detail to Karkat. It was funny watching him fail the first few times, but eventually it just kind of started to get sad. Dave kind of sucked at video games. Plus Karkat was starting to think that his brother wasn't actually in the apartment to begin with because, seriously, who's showers take that fucking long?

Though not a minute later, he heard a door open and close from the hallway. At first he went rigid, watching the threshold wearily, expecting to see Dirk. Though when he saw that it was bro, he relaxed slightly, but not by much. He wasn't kidding when he told Dave that he still had no idea how to act around the guy.

When he walked in, it was almost as if a cloud of steam followed him from the bathroom from his astronomically long shower. He was toweling off his hair that was still slightly damp and Karkat realized that he had never seen it when it wasn't styled or hidden under his hat. In fact, he looked a lot more casual in general, dressed in loose sweatpants and a white tanktop rather than his polo shirts with the popped collars. He also wasn't wearing his shades. He left the towel draped around the back of his neck before he finally looked at them, and Karkat realized that his eyes were _orange_. He knew he was staring but he couldn't help it. Even if he was sure he had noticed, he didn't say anything.

"Hey bro." Dave greeted easily, barely looking up from his game.

"'Sup." The man answered easily, his voice low. He walked further into the room to stand behind them. He leaned forward so that he could rest his arms comfortably against the back of the futon, watching Dave play for a second. "What the fuck are you tryin’ to do?" He asked the younger, his voice quiet with an obvious drawl.

Karkat couldn't help himself, he kept staring at him out of the corner of his eye, taking in as much visual information as he could. He couldn't believe how much more built the guy was compared to Dave and Dirk. His biceps had to be the size of Karkat's head. It was kind of terrifying, in a weird way. That close he could also see a plethora of scars he had never noticed before. His knuckles, hands, forearms, even a few on his neck and face. What the hell had he done to get those?

"I'm trying to speed run this level but I'm starting to think that the article i read fucking lied to me. I can't figure it out." Dave lamented, sighing in frustration when his skater character collapsed to the ground in the shittiest animation Karkat had ever seen.

"That's cause you're playin' this new shit. Let me plug in the original Playstation and show you what a quality skating game actually looks like." Bro said, standing upright so that he could walk around over to the TV stand.

"Oh fuck yeah let's do it." Dave agreed enthusiastically, quitting his own game and setting aside the controller.

As bro crouched down in front of the TV to plug in the Playstation, Karkat could see the expanse of his freckles. They completely covered his shoulders and back, many of them being covered up by the tanktop. And Karkat thought Dave had a lot of freckles. It was kind of endearing that it was something that all of the Striders had in common. That and their abnormally colored eyes.

Once everything was set up, he grabbed a controller and stepped back towards the futon. "Scoot." He demanded simply.

Dave did just that, moving over so that there was enough room for bro to sit on the futon with them. They were a little squished together, but Karkat didn't mind too much since Dave was between them. Bro took the seat that opened for him, propping his feet up on the table as the game started.

Karkat watched them play for a while, finding himself legitimately impressed by how _broken_ the game was. Not just that, bro knew every single tip and trick to fuck with the game to make it appear even more shitty. He was almost convinced that he had somehow gotten a faulty copy of the thing since it was so trashy that he refused to believe anything like that would even be released. Dave was also having a great time, laughing at the ridiculous clipping and occasionally asking if he could try doing something. It was nice to watch the two interact, especially since Karkat had never spent more than ten minutes in a room with bro. He didn't talk much and he was relatively soft-spoken when he did, and yet he still held that ironic Strider attitude. It was easy to see where Dave had gotten it from. It didn't take long until he started to relax, falling easily into their conversation.

\--

Dirk needed a shower. He was hungry and tired. Really, he just needed a break. With his curtains drawn it was pretty much impossible to tell what time of day it was. Was it 1am? 2pm? He didn't fucking know. Whatever the time, food was a top priority.

Sleepily, the Strider slipped his shades on and went to leave his room, letting his body take him towards the kitchen as if he were on autopilot. He yawned as he walked, rounding the corner into the main area. As soon as he did, though, he heard bro's voice and he stopped dead in his tracks.

Bro, Dave, and Karkat were all sitting on the futon together, watching bro play a game. He really must have been spaced out if he didn’t hear them from his room. He entered quietly enough that neither Dave or Karkat noticed him in the threshold, but bro instantly perked up, sensing his presence.

Fuck, he'd been seen. There was no way he could quietly step back into his room or else bro would go after him or call him out, either situation sounding less than desirable. Maybe he could just go into the kitchen and pretend like he was just grabbing a drink before silently slipping away like nothing happened.

"Hey, glad to see you're not fucking dead." Bro said to him, drawing Dave and Karkat's attention towards him as well. "Why don't you join in on family fun night? It's been a hot fucking minute since we've enjoyed some brotherly bonding... with Dave's boyfriend." He added after a second.

Wow, okay. There went that plan.

As soon as they were aware of his presence, he could _see_ Dave and Karkat shift uncomfortably in their seats, trying to busy themselves with other things so they didn't have to keep looking at him. Dave pointedly looked back at the TV and Karkat pulled out his phone, aimlessly scrolling through social media. He had expected Karkat to be weirded out by their confrontation the night before, but he didn't really think Dave would act differently. Maybe he had taken things too far?

Dirk's mouth pursed into a thin line, hesitating for a second. He sighed silently through his nose. "... Okay." He agreed quietly, stepping into the living room. Since they had the futon he just went ahead and sat in the gaming chair to not make any sort of scene. He sank down uncomfortably onto the fake leather fabric, adjusting his legs so that he could still see the TV in front of him. He pulled out his phone as soon as he sat down, following Karkat's example of trying to look busy.

While bro had planned on just continuing his game, he could _feel_ the shift in the room as soon as Dirk entered. Out of the corner of his eye he saw how Dave's jaw clenched and his fists tightened into fists on his lap. It was a pretty mild reaction compared to Karkat, though, who had curled in on himself and instantly pulled out his phone to avoid talking to Dirk. His eyebrows were pulled together with concern and he would nervously glance up at the other Strider every few seconds.

Bro frowned and paused his game, leaning forward to put the controller on the table. "Alright, what the fuck is going on?" He demanded.

The following silence was deafening.

Dirk locked his phone and put it down, his expression unchanging as he met bro's gaze. "Nothing's going on." He said easily. Bro may have believed him if he hadn't practically raised him. He wouldn't be able to get shit past him that easily.

"Bullshit." Bro declared. He pointedly looked at Dave. "What happened?" He was much more likely to get a straight answer out of the youngest Strider.

Dave winced at the direct question, swallowing thickly. "N-Nothing. Nothing's going on." He tried again after he stuttered. "Shit is so fucking normal up in here, man. In fact, things have been so boring around here that I was startin' to think of ways to spice it up a little bit, y'know? Like maybe we should get into pranking each other more. A good old fashioned prank war is what we need-"

"You're rambling." Bro cut him off. "Spill."

Dave shifted uncomfortably from being singled out. He could feel Dirk glaring at him from across the room. "... Well, Dirk has been-"

All of them heard the unmistakable sound of someone at the front door, sticking a key into the lock and turning the deadbolt. Their heads whipped around in that direction, Dave's thought interrupted as they sat on the edge of their seats in anticipation.

Finally, someone's foot kicked open the heavy door and they stepped inside, one hand carrying a few bags and the other dragging a small suitcase behind them. "I'm hooome!" A man announced loudly in a sing-song voice, grinning from ear to ear. He was dressed up in a pristine three piece suit, his face covered by designer shades and his blond hair styled to perfection.

All four of them continued to stare at him, the tense atmosphere from before still thick in the air.

The man's smile slowly fell as he glanced between the four of them. "... What'd I miss?" He asked.

Bro sighed and was the first to get up off the futon, crossing his arms across his chest. "How do you always manage to walk in at the worst possible moment?" He asked the man.

Before the other could answer him, Karkat hopped up to his feet, stumbling back a few steps so that he was closer to the far wall. "Who the _fuck_ are you?!"

"Dane!" Dave exclaimed once he had finally processed the situation. He grinned widely, quickly moving to walk around the futon to greet him.

"Dane?!" Karkat repeated, though his questions were falling on deaf ears.

"'Sup little man." The man - or, Dane? - said, extending out his fist so Dave could bump their knuckles together.

Dave couldn't stop smiling as he put his hands in the pockets of his jacket. "About fuckin' time you showed up. I was startin' to think you were bullshitting us when you told bro you were coming to visit."

"Yeah that was probably a bad idea to plan a visit around awards season. _Sweet Bro and Hella and Jeff: The Movie_ won, like, ten awards." Dane told them, almost as if that fact were an inconvenience or something.

Dane finally spotted Dirk when he stood up from his chair, hovering uncertainly in the living room. Dirk was still trying to recover from the way the atmosphere shifted after Dane walked in. He glanced over at bro who continued giving him a threatening look that said 'this conversation isn't over'. It made it hard for him to be swept up in the excitement of his older brother coming home.

"Dirk!" Dane exclaimed happily, walking over to him.

Dane's energy was infectious, making Dirk smile against his will. "'Sup." He responded, holding his hand out for a fist bump.

Dane ignored that entirely, stepping forward to envelop him in a bone-crushing hug. He was so tall that Dirk only reached up to his collarbones. Dirk hesitated for a second before he returned the hug, feeling his bad mood from before slowly starting to melt away. He could never stay in a bad mood when Dane was around, it was impossible.

When he let go, he finally noticed Karkat, backed against the wall. He was watching the entire scene unfold in front of him. His mouth was agape and his brown eyes shifting between the four men with absolute shock. Dane seemed completely unaware that he was having an internal breakdown. "Yo, man." He said, going to stand in front of him. Karkat was so short compared to Dane that he barely reached up to his chest. The Strider had to literally lean down and rest his hands on his knees just so they could somewhat be on the same level. Karkat would have been offended if he could even process what was going on. "You must be Dave's boyfriend, right? Karkat?"

Karkat stared at him, his face twisted up in disgust. "Once again: who the _fuck_ are you?!" He demanded, tired of being ignored.

Dane's smile fell slightly and he tilted his head in confusion. "Name's Dane, bro. Dane Strider." When Karkat didn't react, he stood up straight again, looking back at the other three. "You guys seriously never mentioned me? I feel so hurt. Just 'cause I don't live here doesn't mean I'm not the backbone of this family."

Dave was smirking at Karkat, his entire demeanor radiating 'I told you so'. "I did tell Karkat about you, he just didn’t believe me."

Dane looked back at Karkat, his mouth open in a small 'o' when he finally understood the situation.

"Because he is lying to me!" Karkat defended, his voice rising in volume, face hot with both embarrassment and rage. "There is no _fucking_ way you're their brother. I refuse to believe it!" He ranted. "You have to be some actor they hired. I mean, you don't even look like a Strider. You don't even have freckles!" He announced boldly, pointing at his face accusingly.

"Ooh, perceptive." Dane said with a laugh. He brought a hand up to wipe at the skin under one of his eyes. A tiny bit of the foundation he had been wearing smudged off onto his fingers and he held out his hand for Karkat to see. "Make up, bro. Gotta look my best when I'm travelin'. I've got a reputation to uphold."

Karkat sputtered, standing his ground. "Well what about your eyes? All of the Striders have abnormally colored eyes and I'm fucking positive you're just wearing those shades to hide the fact that you don't."

"Say no more," Dane nearly cut him off, bringing a hand up to grab his shades. He took them off smoothly, looking down at Karkat after he did so, his face so much more expressive without them.

Karkat's eyes widened and his breath caught in his throat when he saw them. Unlike Dave's eyes, they were a deeper red and in the light he could tell that they even had an orange-ish undertone. Regardless, they were _Strider_ eyes, and there was no way he could deny that. The shorter's expression softened upon seeing them, a lot of his previous anger instantly dissipating. Dane did exist. Dave hadn't been lying to him. He felt like his whole life was falling apart around him.

Suddenly, Dane squinted and blinked rapidly, his eyes tearing up a bit. "Ah shit, it's bright as fuck in here." He said even though the overhead lights were dimmed and it was cloudy outside. He slipped his shades back on. "Did that convince you at all?" He asked the shorter, a smile still present in his voice.

Karkat's mouth opened and closed a couple times, unable to form any words. He jumped when he suddenly felt Dave wrap an arm around his shoulders. He hadn't even heard him walk over. "Yeah, Karkat, believe me now?" He repeated smugly.

His face was hot with a blush that he wasn't sure would ever go away at that point. "Wh... What the fuck? For real? Dane Strider is seriously...?" He muttered, not able to form a coherent sentence.

Dane laughed. "It's cool, people are often dumbstruck when they meet me. And I mean, why wouldn't they be?" He teased, motioning to himself. Back towards the door bro rolled his eyes. "Anyway, I'm gonna go ahead and change outta this damn monkey suit. I'll be right back." He told the four of them, moving to grab his suitcase before disappearing down the hall and into the bathroom.

Dave went to walk away from his boyfriend and, not knowing what else to do, Karkat awkwardly trailed him. "Oh fuck yeah some food." He said excitedly when he glanced into the few plastic bags Dane had carried in with him. Dirk and bro followed him, looking over his shoulder as he rifled through them and took the items out. They were all less than impressed that it just seemed to be shitty gas station food even though they were positive that he could have afforded better. Though Dave would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy some garbage gas station pizza every once in a while.

"Uh, you're welcome for that, by the way." Dane said, emerging from the hallway barely a minute later, carrying another bag with him. He was dressed in a stupid T-shirt that had the design of a tuxedo on it with some loose short shorts. Somehow his immaculate hair was mussed up and, to top off the ridiculousness, he was wearing slide-on sandals with long socks that were pulled up to the middle of his shins. Karkat had a hard time believing he was even the same person.

"We should thank you for this garbage?" Bro said, raising a thick eyebrow in Dane's direction.

"What, you guys aren't hungry? Since when aren't the Striders down for some pizza?"

"You couldn't even get some Dominos or something? This is pretty pathetic." Dirk spoke up, referring to the shittiest frozen pizza any of them had probably ever seen.

"Aw man don't be like that it's gonna taste fucking awesome." Dane assured them. "Plus I did stop and get you guys some other stuff, too." He declared, setting down the mysterious bag he had brought with him from the other room. Even from the outside they could all see that it was full of small to large boxes mixed with other miscellaneous things. The three Striders watched the oldest as he started to rifle through the bag.

"Here you go, Dave." He announced, holding out a box for him to take.

Dave took it eagerly, his eyes widening when he saw that it was a brand new iPhone, completely unopened. "Holy shit are you fucking serious?!" He asked, grinning from ear to ear. He barely even waited for an answer, putting down the sleek box onto the table to work on opening it up.

"I heard that your phone screen was cracked so I went ahead and got ya a new one. I figured while I was visiting we could go get it activated for you. Merry Christmas, man."

Dave, still smiling, surged forward to hug his brother tightly around his middle. "Thanks." He said genuinely before stepping back, turning his attention back to his new phone.

"For Dirk..." Dane continued, reaching back into the bag.

Dirk, who had been trying to appear very casual, perked up at his name. He graciously took the box that was slightly bigger than Dave's. It was a brand new pair of high quality noise canceling headphones. They were the over-the-head style in the color orange, his favorite. He smiled. "Oh thank god, my pair literally just broke."

"I hope you like them. I wasn't exactly sure what you wanted but I compared them to a lot of other brands and they seemed like the best."

Dirk shook his head quickly. "No dude I love them, they're so dope."

Dane nodded, satisfied. "And for bro," He announced, grabbing the last thing. It was a thick plastic bag that seemed to have a lot of random, tiny objects in it. "I know you're stupidly attached to your old turntables to the point where won't let me get you any new ones," Dane prefaced, looking a little sheepish. "So I figured I'd get you some parts to help fix the ones you have now. I remember you mentioning that finding the right parts was hard, especially around here, so I hit up a guy I knew in LA for these."

Bro took the bag, shifting around the parts inside to see just what exactly was inside. Without his shades on they could all see his eyes soften with a smile. "... Thanks." He finally said, his tone genuine.

Karkat watched the four brothers as they talked and interacted, suddenly feeling very out of place. He had just been standing off to the side awkwardly for the last few minutes, staring down at his feet while he nervously played with his hands.

Dane shifted his gaze over to him, his smile falling. "Oh shit, I didn't realize that Karkat was going to be here. I totally would have gotten him something if I knew. Can I get ya anything? New phone? Laptop? The sky's the limit, man."

Karkat looked up at him, quickly shaking his head and blushing. "N-No, I'm fine! You don't have to get me anything." He paused before continuing. "I was actually just about to leave. My parents texted me and said they needed me home." He lied. He just hoped Dave wouldn't call him out on it, even though he had been preoccupied since Dane arrived.

"Probably for the best. This apartment's cramped enough as it is." Dirk mumbled from where he was standing.

The comment was an indirect statement that pretty much translated to 'yeah Karkat, get the fuck out'. They all picked up on it and bro glared at him, suddenly moving his arm back to elbow Dirk aggressively in the ribs. He jerked back from the impact but somehow managed to not make any noise, instead just taking in a sharp breath through his nose. Instead of apologizing, though, he just pointedly took a step away from bro that he wasn't in the line of fire anymore.

"Right..." Karkat said quietly. He started to make his way back towards the front door, putting on his jacket and backpack. He patted his pockets to make sure he had his phone and keys. As he did this, Dane wandered over.

"It was nice to meet you, Karkat. I feel bad that you've been dating Dave for years now and we just got to meet each other." He told him.

Karkat nodded slowly, his hand on the doorknob. "It's fine. Though I would have believed you actually existed if I'd met you sooner."

Dane laughed. "Touché."

"It was nice to meet you too, uh..." He paused awkwardly. "What the fuck do I call you? Mr. Strider? Then what the fuck is there left to call him?" Karkat asked, referring to bro looming in the background.

"Just call me Dane," The oldest said, "Though if you don't want to call him bro you can always call him D-"

Bro instantly appeared behind Dane, locking him in a choke-hold before he could get the name out. Since Dane was taller than him he pulled him back and down so that he collapsed to the ground, shaking the room and toppling over something that was precariously placed on one of the side tables.

Karkat jumped in surprise. He watched the two wrestle for a second before he quickly wrenched the door open, quickly waving at Dave. "Bye!" He told them, stepping out and shutting the door.

"Oh god, Uncle!" Dane shouted instantly after being pinned, his skinny frame absolutely standing no chance against bro’s sheer amount of muscle weight.

Bro shook his head. "Already? You're fuckin' pathetic." He said, reluctantly getting up.

Dane was panting hard, trying to catch his breath. "Holy fuck," He breathed, moving to stand himself. "Why are you so fucking strong? I didn't think you could get any more buff. Like, why?"

Bro huffed out a laugh. "Maybe because I don't want to be a scrawny shit like the rest of you."

As the two of them talked, Dirk had turned his attention to preparing some food for all of them. He got out a pan and set the oven to preheat so that they could eat their shitty pizza. He turned and leaned back against the counter while he watched his brothers bicker, feeling warm with a strange sense of familiarity that he hadn't experienced in so long.

"Hey Dane," Dave called out, getting his attention. "I know you don't want us to get you Christmas or birthday presents but I drew this for you and I've been holding onto it so I could show you in person." Dave explained, pulling his phone out of his pocket. Dane had to lean down slightly since he was so tall so that he could see Dave's phone screen. Dave quickly navigated through the device until he found what he was looking for, proudly displaying it for his older brother. "It's a Christmas themed Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff comic. I haven't even posted this baby because I wanted you to be the first to see it."

Dane pushed his shades up to rest on his head for a second so he could see it properly.

He grinned widely upon seeing it. "Holy shit man this fucking _rules_." He complimented. Dave smiled, looking proud of himself. "You know I check up on your Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff blog every day, right? All of your comics are getting so fucking good. I've even been thinking about using a couple ideas for my next movie."

"For real? Dude, I would be so fuckin' honored. I know my fancomics don't even come close to the Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff cultural phenomenon you've crafted so lovingly but I'm so glad you at least let me try."

Dane laughed, ruffling Dave's hair. "Couldn't do it with ya."

Dirk smiled at the interaction, pushing off the counter to put the pizza in once the oven beeped.

"Man, I need a beer." Dane stated, going over to check the fridge. He opened the door and out fell a few shitty swords, clanking loudly against the ground. He just managed to jump out of the way before they hit him. He shot bro a look. "You still doin' this shit?" He asked.

Bro shrugged, looking smug. "Keeps 'em on their toes." He said, referring to Dave and Dirk.

"Glad to see some things never change." Dane commented, pretending to wipe a tear away from his face. He rifled around in the fridge for a minute until he found what he wanted. "Aha!" He pulled out a Natural Light beer from the bottom shelf. "I'm so honored that you remembered what my favorite adult beverage was."

"That’s left over from last time. I'd say it's probably disgusting by now but I don't think anything could make that shit taste any worse."

"It's that shitty? Dane, dude, you should let me try." Dave chimed in, looking up from messing with his new phone.

Dane laughed, once again ruffling his hair on the way to the living room. "Nice try kid, you can't fool me that easily. You're gonna have to wait a few more years 'til we can crack open a cold one together."

"Man fuck that, Dave's going to have his first drink with me. I did fuckin' raise him from a baby with pretty much no help from you." Bro commented, his tone a little too serious to be considered a joke.

The room was quiet. Dane's smile faltered for a split second while Dirk and Dave glanced at each other wearily. There was another second before Dane spoke again. "Well, whatever he wants to do." He said, trying to keep his voice light-hearted even though it sounded a bit forced. "Y'all still got Hulu?" He asked, obviously trying to change the subject.

For a second the two younger Striders were worried that bro was going to keep pushing, yet thankfully he followed along with the subject change. "We use your account, idiot."

"Oh right, I forgot." He admitted. Once Dane was in the living room, he grabbed the gaming chair from where it was in the corner and dragged it over to be in front of the futon. Right before he was about to lower himself down to sit, Dave piped up from the kitchen.

"Do you shorts say 'juicy' on the ass...?!" He asked so loudly that for a second the others were worried that their neighbors would hear.

Dirk snorted before he could stop himself, covering his mouth with a hand and turning his head to the side to conceal his laughter. He wasn't doing a very good job of it, his shoulders shaking.

"Uh, yeah? 'Cause it _is_ juicy. Says it right there on the package." He responded without even looking back at them, finally sitting in the shitty chair. He made an exaggerated noise of comfort even though there was no way he could be comfortable. His legs were so long that his knees nearly reached his chin.

"Gross." Bro contributed with a shake of his head. He went to join Dane in the living room, taking his normal spot on the futon.

The oldest had grabbed the remote and was scrolling through the Hulu library, obviously looking for something specific. "I was right in the middle of a season of ANTM." He announced to them as he still searched.

"America's Next Top Model?" Dave clarified, also going over to sit with bro.

Dirk raised an eyebrow even if Dave couldn't see him from the kitchen. "How the fuck did you know that?"

"Karkat hate watches it."

" _Hate_ watches it? No way man, this show is fuckin' dope, the absolute epitome of reality television. Everything about this show comes together to build the perfect reality conglomerate. The concept of competitive modeling, Tyra Banks, the perfect amount of scripting and natural drama, making the girls live together; No wonder this show got twenty two seasons."

Bro had been making a face of disgust throughout Dane's speech, reluctantly pulling out his phone to occupy himself so he didn't have to pay attention. Dave, on the other hand, was leaning forward attentively, hanging onto his every word. "Man I didn't even fuckin' think about that. I just thought it was hilarious watching Karkat rant and rave over how the show was so disrespectful to the contestants or whatever the hell."

"Oh yeah, that too. Doesn't mean I can't enjoy the shit out of it." The other agreed, finally finding the listing and starting an episode. He cracked open his beer and took a sip before leaning back in his chair. "Okay so to fill you in: This bitch Celia had just thrown this other chick under the bus at the judging panel, though while this is all goin’ on, my favorite contestant Alison is..."

Dirk tuned them out after that, turning his attention to getting the pizza out of the oven. Thankfully the recommended time on the package seemed to have done the trick and he grabbed a spare rag before pulling it out. Since everyone had just gotten comfortable, he took it upon himself to put a couple slices on four separate plates. He took two over to Bro and Dave first who muttered a quiet thank you. It took Dave approximately three seconds to burn the roof of his mouth. Typical.

Dirk took over the last two plates for him and Dane, handing it down to him on the chair. Dane smiled and set his drink aside, gratefully accepting the food. He patted the spot next to him on the floor, silently asking Dirk to sit with him. Carefully holding his plate with one hand, Dirk accepted the offer, lowering himself down and sitting on the carpeted floor with his legs crossed.

Dane turned to talk to him while he waited for his food to cool down, his voice low enough so he wasn't talking over the volume of the TV. "Do you really like the headphones? 'Cause I totally won't be offended if you want to go get a different pair."

Dirk shook his head, waiting to swallow his bite before talking. "No way, they're fucking awesome. You didn't have to do that."

"You kiddin'? I wish I coulda done more. I know you always need parts for your robotics stuff but I have no idea what to look for. Bro isn't very helpful in that regard, either." He told Dirk honestly, finally starting to eat.

Dane's concern was genuine and real, and it made Dirk soften slightly. The way he talked about his interests was so different compared to Dave and bro. Dave honestly didn't give a fuck, and Dirk kind of preferred it that way. At least he had grown out of his phase where he would try to intentionally sabotage his projects. Dirk couldn't even count the amount of times they used to argue when Dave was younger just because he wanted to be a shit. He finally just learned to leave it alone. Bro, on the other hand, wasn't interested and would go out of his way to express that. It was a mixture of not quite getting it and believing that what he decided to do with his skills wasn't productive enough, or something. It was hard to tell with him.

With Dane, though, it felt like he was genuinely interested. Dirk used to think he was just humoring him, but felt more assured as the years went by. Even so, it was nice to be humored sometimes.

In between bites of his pizza, Dane continued telling him the season highlights, trying to catch him up on the riveting drama. Dirk fell into the conversation easily, finding the sound of Dane's voice comforting. It was low, but not as low as bro's, and he had the heaviest accent out of all of them. That fact was pretty hilarious considering he'd been living in LA for years by that point. As the two continued to talk and shoot the shit, it reminded Dirk of when he was much younger, sitting with his brothers in the same exact spot. Dave was really little back then, and remembering that flooded him with a sense of nostalgia. It was a warm feeling, very comforting. It almost made him forget about their awkward encounter earlier in the day before Dane had come home. It was almost enough to make him forget about Jake, even for a moment.

Almost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry Dirk, it's impossible to be in a bad mood around Dane. Those are the rules.
> 
> The fanart for this chapter was drawn by Karcutie and given to me as a Christmas present a couple years ago. Who woulda thought that it'd eventually make its way into a fic we're collaborating on. 
> 
> Thank you to everyone who have read up to this point, and special thanks to those who have commented! The last chapter is completely finished and will be uploaded very soon, so stay tuned!
> 
> (Don't forget to check out [Karcutie](https://www.instagram.com/karcutie/?hl=en) on Instagram and my [Tumblr](https://nagi-chan-san.tumblr.com/))


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is, the final chapter!! 
> 
> Sorry that this chap is shorter than the others. Chapters 3 and 4 were originally one chapter and it just made the most sense to split them up this way.
> 
> Thank you to everyone who has read, left kudos, and commented on this fic. It's been a blast for Karcutie and I to work together on this and seeing all the positive feedback makes us so happy :')
> 
> Make sure you see the notes at the end of the chapter for the art and an EXCITING ANNOUNCEMENT!! Otherwise enjoy the chapter!

By the time they were on the third episode of America's Next Top Model, they were betting on what would happen next and accurately quoting the judging panels. It was pretty fucking hilarious. Even bro had started to loosen up as they continued to watch.

After a couple hours, though, bro took the remote from Dane to pause it before it could go on to the next episode. "Hate to be a wet blanket but it's nearly two in the morning and I need some fuckin' shut-eye. Unlike all of you I actually have jobs to go to."

"Aw man..." Dave complained. "We were really gettin' into it! I gotta know who makes it to the final runway show!"

"You have all fuckin' weekend to figure it out. Now go to bed."

"That's probably for the best. I'm pretty exhausted after travelin' all day." Dane agreed, getting up from his chair and stretching.

Dirk followed, feeling stiff and uncomfortable from sitting on the floor for so long. For the first time in a few weeks he would probably be able to fall asleep before 5am.

"I assume I'm stayin' in your room?" Dane asked him.

Dirk nodded. "Yeah. I have to clear some space, though. I didn't know you were coming today so I wasn't really prepared." Dirk warned him, leading him down the hall so they could go into his room.

Dane waved a hand dismissively. "Ain't no big deal. I can sleep on the fuckin' floor for all I care." The older assured him, following him inside. Though as soon as he was there, he definitely could see what Dirk had meant by the place being a mess. There was barely even a floor to sleep on. Dirk started haphazardly kicking aside some parts, trying to make enough room for him.

While he was doing that, the older wandered in further to see his work desk, whistling lowly. "Daaamn..."

Dirk went over to his closet to get the spare blankets and pillows he kept there after he shoved all of his crap aside. He simply hummed to acknowledge the comment since he was busy doing other things.

"No really, this is insane. All of this stuff looks really impressive. Are you sure this is just a hobby?"

After the other was done setting down the blankets and pillows, he finally goes over to stand by his brother. He shrugged, adjusting his shades before putting his hands in the pockets of his jeans. "You know how bro is. He doesn't really take it seriously."

Dane shook his head, looking disappointed. "Typical. So what do you have going on here?" He pressed, leaning over to take a closer look at the pair of shades that were plugged into Dirk's computer.

Dirk perked up at the question. "That's my current project. It's pretty... ambitious. He's basically an AI that'll continue to grow and learn the more you chat with him. The shades act as a hands-free computer that can track your eye movements to still be able to type and communicate with the AI."

Dane blinked behind his shades, blown away by the explanation. "He?"

"Oh, uh, yeah..." Dirk said, looking a little sheepish. "I named him Auto-Responder, at least for now. Robots deserve name's too, y'know."

Dane laughed. "Guess I can't argue with that. So he's just some sort of chat client? Like Cleverbot?"

Dirk made an uncertain noise, using one of his hands to make a so-so motion. "If things go according to plan he'll make Cleverbot look like AI on baby mode. He'll be able to do a lot more than just keep up a conversation."

Dane didn't really have any idea what that meant, but he was impressed nonetheless.

"I'm obviously still working on it, but you can go ahead and message him. The more people he communicates with the smarter he'll get." Dirk urged, moving his mouse so his monitor would light up to display the chat he had been messing with earlier. He pushed his keyboard over to Dane slightly, encouraging him to type.

Intrigued, Dane stepped forward, typing out a quick greeting on Dirk's mechanical keyboard.

TT: hey whats up mr robot  
TT: Hello Mr. Human.  
TT: I'm assuming this isn't Dirk?  
TT: damn that was quick how did you figure it out so fast  
TT: Typing style, mostly. And the fact that Dirk has already given me a name.  
TT: oh shit my bad was that rude of me?  
TT: No, it was humorous more than anything.  
TT: so if im not dirk than who am i  
TT: Well obviously the only people that would have access to Dirk's computer are his brothers.  
TT: Your typing style and speech clearly indicate that you're neither Dirk nor bro, so that only leaves Dave and Dane.  
TT: It's very unlikely that Dirk would even allow Dave in his room, let alone let him use his computer.  
TT: So by process of elimination that would leave Dane.  
TT: bingo

Dane grinned, looking over at Dirk who had been hovering beside him as he typed. "This is cool as shit. Can he see us?" He asked suddenly, carefully picking up the shades next to the computer to get a closer look.

Dirk smiled and shook his head. "No, not yet. I’d like to give him a camera eventually, though." He said, using one hand to type a quick goodbye to AR before closing the program.

As Dirk quickly changed into something to sleep in, Dane took off his shades and set them on Dirk's bedside table. He also made sure to plug in his phone to charge. "Seriously though, I can't believe bro didn't tell me about all of this stuff. I'm definitely going to give him shit about it later." He announced, finally sitting down on his makeshift bed.

After he changed, Dirk flicked off his desk lamp to douse the room in darkness. He collapsed into bed, letting his head fall back onto the pillow. "Why do you do that?" He suddenly asked.

"Do what?" Dane responded, also laying down to get comfortable. He was so tall that his feet stuck out of the end of his blanket, something he was unfortunately used to by that point.

"Purposely try to get a rise out of bro. Don't you ever get tired of pissing him off?"

Dane laughed. "No way, it never gets old."

"Just seems like a lot more trouble than it's worth." Dirk muttered.

"What, like you and Dave don't fight all the time? Yeah right."

Dirk's eyebrows furrowed together even if Dane couldn't see him from the floor. "Um... we really don't? Not usually, anyway."

"Huh." Dane said, not-so-helpfully.

"It's kind of impressive, actually. I don't know how you manage to get under bro’s skin like that."

Dane sighed quietly. "It's probably because he's still mad that I left for LA. You'd think after all this time he'd put it behind us and yet... here we are." The older man paused, his mouth setting in a thin line. The next time he spoke, it was significantly softer. "I thought I'd be helping you guys out if I went, since we were struggling. Apparently bro's too fuckin' stubborn to accept help from anyone, though. He barely even lets me get you guys birthday and Christmas gifts. It's fuckin' ridiculous, I can't win."

Dirk was quiet for a minute, processing the information. He didn't know that bro had outright refused help from Dane, but that bit of information put a lot of things into perspective. Dirk always thought it was strange that Dane left, made it big, and then barely came to see them. He had always wanted to ask bro about it but he knew it was a sensitive topic. And of course there was the possibility that even if he did ask bro wouldn't give him a straight answer. No wonder Dane felt weird about visiting them. Bro was too determined to do everything himself that getting help was completely out of the question. While things were a lot better than they were before, it still frustrated Dirk to think about how much better things could have been before bro found a few steady jobs.

After a minute of silence, Dane wanted to change the subject. "Uh, anyway," He began awkwardly. "I heard that you got a boyfriend! It's Jake, right? How's that going?"

Dirk's entire body tensed when being reminded of Jake. That conversation topic was probably worse than bro and Dane's drama. "G-Good. Awesome." He said, trying to keep his voice even with little success. He swallowed thickly.

"Yeah...?" Dane continued, sensing the unsure tone in his voice. Even though he wanted to know more, he wasn't going to push.

Dirk thought about leaving it at that, and yet... "Things could be better, I guess." He mumbled, so quiet that he had to wonder if his brother had even heard him. He shut his eyes and held his breath, waiting for the onslaught of questions.

They didn't come. Dane just hummed thoughtfully. "That really sucks, I'm sorry... I hope things get better soon. I know that Jake means a lot to you."

Dirk held his breath, letting that last statement hang heavily in the air. He hated the way his chest ached, knowing the Dane was absolutely right. At least there were was no psychoanalyzing, no teasing, no endless stream of questions. It was a simple statement of support and hope. Dirk released the breath he had been holding, feeling relieved that he finally just... admitted that there was a problem. It was the first time he had said anything out loud instead of bottling it up. "... Thanks." He said genuinely.

Even though he couldn't see him, he could hear the smile in Dane's voice. "No problem. Night, Dirk."

"Night." He responded, rolling over to get more comfortable.

He slept through the night for the first time in weeks.

\--

It was amazing how easily Dane adjusted to the daily routine in the Strider apartment. Since it was the weekend, the earliest anyone would be up and moving around was around 11, sometimes as late as noon to one depending on how late they had all stayed up the night before. Despite getting up so late, Dane's coffee addiction made absolutely sure that he wouldn't be able to form a coherent sentence until he had at least three cups of the stuff.

As if he wasn't annoying bro enough already, the oldest Strider pulled a Polaroid camera out of his suitcase and kept it with him all day, taking pictures whenever he could. In just the first day he managed to catch Dirk brushing his teeth, Dave drawing a sbahj comic, and a selfie with him and Dirk with bro on the futon. That last one in particular was a risky move, as bro instantly tried to chase him down. Because of Dane's long legs he just barely managed to escape, shutting himself in the bathroom long enough to let the photo develop.

If they weren't hanging out in the apartment, they would all take small trips into the city. They all went together to get Dave's phone activated before they hit up the local arcade. At first the location made Dirk feel uneasy. The last time he was there, him and Jake were on a date. He shoved that thought aside, instead watching Dave go absolutely apeshit, trying to accumulate as many tickets as possible. The fact that he was really bad at the games and had shit luck made his endeavor infinitely funnier. By the time they were done he only had enough tickets to buy a tiny overpriced crab plushie for Karkat.

Bro and Dane were so competitive that it made Dirk wonder whether or not they were even having fun. They purposely try to sabotage each other, especially on multiplayer games. There was lots of pushing and empty threats of bodily harm thrown around. Bro emerged victorious at the end of the day, much to Dane's dismay. Dirk just wandered off by himself to check out all the Japanese rhythm games. He couldn't even pretend to be interested in anything else.

Probably the best outing, though, was when Dane surprised them all by going to Olive Garden. Dave nearly wept with joy when they pulled into the parking lot, already losing his mind about continuous breadsticks. As they were waiting to be seated, the youngest made up the worst rap Dirk had ever heard in his life, and he absolutely made sure to tell him that. Dave only laughed, seeming relaxed around Dirk for the first time since they fought over the futon. Bro had been watching them intently for the last few days, gauging the situation since their talk had been interrupted. Even if things seemed better, he still pointedly sat himself next to Dave at the table, just in case Dirk and Dave started to argue again. Dirk thought he was being paranoid but didn't say anything.

When they were all seated and shoving breadsticks in their mouths, Dane tried to make some cheesy speech about how gathering together at Olive Garden brought them closer together as a family because, of course, "when youre here youre family dogg". Bro had just glared at him and kicked his shin underneath the table, making Dirk turn his head to the side to try to hide his laughter.

However, Dirk's favorite time of day would be when bro would go to work, just leaving the three of them in the apartment. Dave would usually just go shut himself away in his room if they weren't doing anything particularly exciting, so that gave Dirk plenty of time to hang out with Dane. The older pulled up a chair to sit with Dirk as he worked on AR, just talking about nothing in particular. Dane loved to talk, and for some reason when he rambled it wasn't as annoying as when Dave would do it. Maybe it was just because they didn't see each other as much, and the fact that Dane had interesting shit to talk about, being a movie director and all. Dirk never got tired of hearing stories about what it was like to work with Owen Wilson and Ben Stiller on the SBaHJ set. It was nice to listen to him while Dirk precariously worked on the shades and implemented more code into AR's system. Dane was also more than happy to talk to AR when Dirk asked him to, just to see how he was progressing or to see if he needed to fix anything. At one point Dane had sneakily snapped a picture of him as he worked, but Dirk only rolled his eyes. He didn't really care since it made Dane so happy.

It was overall a really nice visit, and he was trying to enjoy it as much as he could before reality came crashing back down again.

\--

\-- carcinoGenecist [CG] began pestering turntechGodhead [TG] \--

CG: HEY.  
TG: hey man  
TG: i havent heard from you in a few days whats up  
CG: WE LITERALLY JUST SAW EACH OTHER AT SCHOOL.  
TG: irrelevant  
TG: seeing each other at school hits different cause were there for business  
CG: BUSINESS?  
CG: ARE YOU IMPLYING THAT YOU DO ANYTHING WORTHWHILE WHILE YOU'RE AT SCHOOL? BECAUSE I'M NOT AFRAID TO CALL ABSOLUTE BULLSHIT ON THAT.  
TG: is anything we do at school really worthwhile  
CG: ... OKAY YOU HAVE A POINT.  
TG: anyway  
TG: to what do i owe the pleasure  
CG: IS YOUR OLDER BROTHER STILL VISITING?  
TG: dane? yeah  
TG: i think hes leaving tomorrow though  
TG: and you know you can just call him dane right  
CG: IS IT OKAY IF I COME OVER TOMORROW THEN?  
TG: hell yeah man of course you can come over  
TG: whew i thought you were mad at me or something  
TG: i was worried that dane scared you away or something you looked like you were going throw up after you met him  
CG: HE DIDN'T SCARE ME AWAY YOU IDIOT. THOUGH I DID ALMOST PUKE ALL OVER MYSELF WHEN I REALIZED THAT HE ACTUALLY EXISTED.  
CG: I JUST DIDN'T WANT TO INTRUDE ON YOUR FAMILY TIME, BUT IF HE'S LEAVING TOMORROW THEN I WON'T FEEL BAD ABOUT COMING OVER.  
CG: UNLESS SHIT IS STILL GOING DOWN WITH DIRK. ANY DEVELOPMENTS WITH THAT?  
TG: no hes actually been cool the last few days  
TG: dirks always in a good mood when dane comes to visit though  
CG: WELL THAT'S WORTHY OF A FUCKING CELEBRATION I GUESS.  
CG: GOD I NEED TO GET AWAY FROM MY PARENTS FOR A WHILE. I'M GOING INSANE.  
TG: everything okay?  
CG: YEAH I'M FINE THEY'RE JUST ANNOYING.  
CG: PLUS IT'S BEEN WEIRD NOT HANGING OUT WITH YOU. I FEEL LIKE MY WHOLE SCHEDULE'S BEEN THROWN OFF.  
TG: oh my god karkat do you... miss me?  
TG: i dunno man thats kind of gay dont ya think  
CG: OH YEAH BECAUSE MISSING MY BOYFRIEND IS SO FUCKING CRINGEY RIGHT? HAHAHAHAHAHA LET'S ALL LAUGH IT UP BECAUSE KARKAT MISSES HIS BOYFRIEND. THE ABSOLUTE FREAK.  
TG: i was fucking with you but the confirmation is nice anyway  
TG: i missed you too  
TG: ill see you tomorrow then?  
CG: YEAH, I'LL SEE YOU TOMORROW. ASSHOLE.  
CG: ... <3

\-- carcinoGenecist [CG] ceased pestering turntechGodhead [TG] \--

\--

Dane was bustling around the apartment, picking up miscellaneous things that he had left around to pack them back into his suitcase. Dirk and bro were hanging out in the living room to stay out of his way. Dirk was on his phone and bro was standing at his turntables, headphones on as he fucked around with some settings.

Dane’s flight was leaving soon, and Dirk briefly wondered if he was even going to make it once he heard the bathroom door close and the shower start running. At least his showers weren’t nearly as long as bro’s or he really would be late.

Sure enough, probably less than twenty minutes later, he wandered back into the main area, completely clean and presentable. He dragged his packed suitcase behind him, leaving it by the door so he could grab it on his way out the door. “Welp, I’m pretty sure I got everything. As usual, if I forgot something you can either just hold onto it for me or keep it for yourself, I don’t really give a fuck.”

“Noted.” Dirk said.

“When did you say Dave gets home from school?”

The younger checked the time on his phone. “Should be any minute now, though he is running a couple minutes late.”

Dane hummed. “I should still be able to make it.”

He walked over to bro still at his turntables, tapping on his shoulder. Even Dirk could see the glare bro shot his way from being interrupted. He moved one headphone off of one ear. “What?”

“I’m leavin’, man. Just wanted to say goodbye.” Dane said innocently, not letting bro’s demeanor sway his good mood in any way.

“Right. Bye.” Bro said tersely, going back to what he had been doing.

Dane grinned. “Love you too, bro.” He said, pushing his luck by briefly putting a hand on bro’s shoulder. He ignored his murderous gaze, wandering back over to Dirk. “Definitely gonna miss that ray of sunshine.” He told him, pointing back at bro over his shoulder with his thumb.

Dirk laughed quietly. “Right? Just an absolute pleasure.”

Dane leaned back against the wall, sighing. “But seriously, I am gonna miss you guys. I feel bad that I could only stay for a few days.”

Dirk shrugged. “It was nice seeing you anyway. Just come visit us more often and maybe it wouldn’t matter.” He added, clearly teasing.

The other nodded, in complete agreement. “I’m definitely not going to miss your birthdays and Christmas this year, at least.” He paused, his smile slowly falling as he thought for a second. “Hey, Dirk?” He called out.

Dirk looked up from his phone, locking it so he could give him his undivided attention. “Yeah?”

“Listen,” Dane began hesitantly. “You know that I don’t like to meddle in your business or whatever because, well, it’s none of my business. I don’t know exactly what’s going on with you and Jake but… I think that you should talk to him. Not to put you on the spot or anything but I can just tell that it’s eating at you…”

Dirk was silent, staring at Dane from behind his shades. Thankfully bro still had his headphones on, completely unaware of the current conversation. Dane’s advice hung in the air for a few more seconds before Dirk slowly nodded, looking down at his lap. “... Yeah, okay. I’ll talk to him.” He muttered.

Dane’s face softened and he smiled. “Cool. Everything’s gonna be okay, I promise.” He said, stepping forward and holding out his fist.

Dirk couldn’t help it, he let himself smile too. He bumped their knuckles together. “Alright.”

Suddenly, the front swung open, revealing Dave and Karkat as they made their way inside. They both immediately noticed the three of them in the living room, though Karkat looked particularly confused as he shrugged off his backpack and jacket. “Oh shit, hey.” Dave said, his sights mostly set on Dane.

"Hey." Dane answered with a smile. Like the first time Karkat had seen him, he was dressed in an incredibly expensive looking suit, perfectly tailored to his body. His hair was styled and he just shaved, the scruff that he had grown over the last few days completely gone. Even from where he was all the way across the room Dave and Karkat could smell his cologne and aftershave.

"I thought you left this morning?" Dave asked, clearly surprised.

He shook his head, putting his hands in the pockets of his suit. "I went ahead and got a different flight so I didn't have to get up so early. And I wanted to be able to say goodbye to you before I left." He said truthfully.

"Damn you should have texted me. Were you just about to leave?" He continued, spotting his packed suitcase against the wall next to the front door.

"Yeah I just called an Uber and he should be here any minute. I already said my goodbyes to Dirk and bro so I was just waitin' on you, little man."

Dave smiled, the endearing nickname comfortable and familiar. "Cool. Thanks for comin’ to see us." He said easily, stepping forward to give his older brother a hug.

Karkat hung back, still by the door. He awkwardly put his hands in the pocket of his oversized hoodie, looking down at the ground. He still somehow managed to interrupt something when that's what he had been trying to avoid the whole time. Typical.

After Dave and Dane said their final goodbyes, Dane stepped up to Karkat, getting his attention. He kind of hated just how far he had to crane his neck up to look at him. Was Dave going to get that tall at some point? He had no idea how he'd feel if that were to happen. "Uh," Karkat began after he realized he'd been staring at him for a second. "It was nice to meet you, Mr. Strider."

Even from behind his shades Karkat could see the guy light-heartedly roll his eyes. "It was nice to meet you too, Karkat." He hesitated for a second before leaning down, pulling Karkat into an awkward hug. It probably wouldn't have been so awkward if it weren't for their height difference, since Dane practically had to fold himself in half and Karkat still only reached up to his chest. He patted Karkat on the back a couple times before pulling away to stand upright again "Take good care of Dave, yeah?" He said, almost exactly like a dad would.

Karkat was _not_ expecting him to say that. His face got so hot he thought he was going to pass out. "I-I..." He stuttered uselessly. "Y-Yeah...?" He finally managed to choke out.

Behind Dane, Dave practically choked on air. "Holy shit bro are you fucking serious? You're just gonna say that...?!" He called out, dramatically pretending to retch. He looked at the other two, still quiet in the living room. "Oh my god please tell him to stop." He begged them.

Dirk and bro were pointedly looking away, opting to stay out of that one.

Dane just laughed, loud and melodic. "It's been done, bro." He said, almost like it was a victory. Suddenly his phone pinged and he quickly checked the notification. "Alright y'all, my ride's here." He announced, grabbing his suitcase. "I'll be back to visit soon. I miss you already!" He said to all of them, dramatically waving as he stepped past Karkat to open the door.

The rest of them all muttered various versions of goodbye, waving back until Dane finally stepped out and quietly closed the door behind them.

"Fuck, thank god..." Bro breathed, though they could all tell there was no real hostility behind it.

Dirk just laughed, shaking his head.

Dave and Karkat finally ventured further inside, leaving the others in the living room to shut themselves away in Dave’s room. It hadn't even been a full week and Karkat was glad to be back. The space was familiar and comfortable, if not a little messy, even by Dave's standards. He had probably just been distracted by his brother visiting.

The youngest Strider walked in and collapsed backwards onto his bed, the mattress bouncing up and down a couple times from the action. He took a deep breath in and out. "Man, I can't believe Dane said that. That was really fuckin' embarrassing." He mumbled to himself, his cheeks still tinted pink.

Karkat smiled softly, moving to join him. He crawled on top of Dave, his knees on either side of his legs before he lowered himself down abruptly so that he was laying on top of him. Dave made a dramatic 'oof' sound when he did, though they both knew that Karkat was too small to really hurt him. Plus he was wearing so much clothing that someone may as well have just dropped a heavy pillow on top of Dave. Karkat propped himself up a little on his elbows and forearms so he could still properly look down at his boyfriend. "Well I thought it was romantic. Finally someone in your fucking family seems to value true romance."

He could feel Dave laugh underneath him. "But in front of Dirk and bro?"

Karkat hummed. "Yeah, the timing was pretty sub-optimal..." He agreed. He then lowered himself so that he was comfortably laying his head on Dave's chest. He practically melted when he felt Dave absentmindedly rub a hand up and down his back. They were quiet for a second before he spoke again. "I like Dane though... he's pretty nice."

Dave's hand stopped and he raised his eyebrows in disbelief. "Holy shit...? You, Karkat Vantas, actually _like_ one of my brothers...? It's a fucking miracle. I thought I'd never see the day." He exclaimed dramatically.

Karkat rolled his eyes, once again propping himself up so he could look at him. "Well your one brother is weirdly quiet and cryptic while the other practically broke your arm over a fucking futon, so sorry that I haven't had high opinions of them lately."

It may have sounded harsh but Dave smiled anyway. "Nah it's cool, I get it. Dane's a good guy, he's just... absent. Obviously."

Karkat softened slightly. "I guess I didn't think about that. I'm sorry."

Dave quickly shook his head. "It's okay, I don't really remember much from when he was around all the time. Obviously I think it bothers Dirk more than me. Speaking of..." He got lost in thought for a second. "I should probably do something about Dirk sooner rather than later. Things calmed down with Dane here but now that he's gone... I dunno."

Karkat nodded, though a bit wearily. "Don't piss him off even more. Somehow I can see you doing that."

Dave laughed. "C'mon man, have a little more faith in me?"

The other pretended to think for a second. "Hmm... No." He deadpanned.

"Cruel."

Karkat tried to hide his smile by pressing his face into Dave's neck. "By the way, can I stay over tonight?" He muttered against his skin.

"Again? On another school night? Man, you really must have missed me."

"Oh my god shut up or I'll leave."

Dave grinned, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend's small frame, keeping him in place. "I was kidding, jeez. Of course you can stay."

Karkat nodded, satisfied with that answer. He fully relaxed against Dave, enjoying each other's company in comfortable silence.

\--

Karkat had no idea what time it was when he woke up later that night. His eyes blearily blinked open as he was slowly pulled out of consciousness, his breathing even and deep. He was so warm, cocooned in the blankets while his boyfriend comfortably slotted himself behind him. One of Dave's arms was draped around his waist and he could feel his soft breath on the back of his neck, making him never want to get up.

Though of course when Karkat swallowed, his throat felt like sandpaper. God, he needed a drink of water. There was no way he'd be able to fall back asleep since he noticed it.

He started the slow and careful process of untangling himself from Dave, which was much easier said than done. He was kind of a light sleeper and Karkat always felt bad when he'd accidentally wake him up. He gently moved Dave's arm before he used his legs to scoot himself across the mattress to the edge of the bed. He briefly tensed and watched as the other shifted, though thankfully he just rolled over to go back to sleep. Karkat breathed a quiet sigh of relief, rising to his feet.

The city lights outside illuminated enough of the room so that he could easily navigate himself towards the door without stepping on anything. As he quietly closed the door behind him, he yawned, scrubbing some of the sleep out of his eyes. His feet padded quietly on the carpet as he walked towards the kitchen.

When Karkat rounded the corner, he saw Dirk already in the kitchen, and instantly froze.

The Strider was leaning against the far counter, scrolling through something on his phone. His hair was messy and he didn't have his shades on. Karkat distantly noted that they seemed to be the same color as bro’s eyes. In the light of his phone screen, he could see just how exhausted he looked, his mouth pulled into a frown with prominent bags under his eyes. He thought about backing away quietly and just getting some water from the bathroom sink, but it's almost like Dirk had a sixth sense that alerted him to his presence. They made eye contact and Karkat's feet may as well have been nailed to the ground. He swallowed nervously.

They held eye contact for another second before Dirk just looked away from him, going back to what he was doing on his phone. Karkat's not sure exactly what he expected, but it wasn't that. It gave him the opportunity to walk away, and yet the awkwardness was already thick in the air... How could it get any worse?

Karkat took a deep breath and crossed his arms, hesitating for a second. "Hey." He finally called out. Even though he was speaking quietly, the simple greeting sounded too loud in comparison to the silent apartment. He tried not to wince. At least bro was at work and not sleeping on the futon.

Dirk once again glanced up from his phone, raising his scarred eyebrow. "... Hey." He responded, surprise apparent in his voice. He had not expected Karkat to talk to him.

Karkat gnawed at his bottom lip, trying to pick his next words carefully. "Listen... I know we haven't talked that much. Or at all, really. And I'm not sure what the hell I did to make you so angry at me, and frankly, I don't really give a fuck. You can be mad at me all you want, but can you just... not take it out on Dave? I think this whole thing has been bothering him more than he'd like to admit..." Karkat finished, his voice losing confidence at the end of his spiel.

Dirk blinked at him, rendered speechless.

His silence made Karkat even more nervous and he scrambled to explain himself. "I-I know I'm over here a lot and that's probably really annoying, or whatever, it's just that I can't really bring Dave to my house because my parents are kind of... Rude to him? Stand-offish? It's hard to explain but I guess that's why we come over here because obviously we want to hang out and this is just the best place to do it and-"

Dirk squeezed his eyes shut from information overload, locking his phone and setting it on the counter. "Wait wait wait," He finally cut him off, bringing a hand up to rub at the back of his head. "You think I'm mad at you...?" He asked, still trying to process the first thing Karkat had said to him.

The other stopped abruptly. "I... aren't you?" He asked, completely lost. "You just always seem pissed off every time you see Dave and I together. Y'know, telling us to be quiet and kicking us out of the apartment and shit... What else was I supposed to think?"

After a second, a look of realization and regret crossed Dirk’s features. His head tipped back as he closed his eyes again, heaving out a long, long sigh. "Fuck..." He mumbled. "Dammit, Karkat, I'm not mad at you." He finally declared.

Karkat's eyebrows furrowed together, thoroughly confused. "You... You aren't?"

"No, I'm not. And I'm not mad at Dave either." He said. "I can see why you would think that, though."

"So... Do you just want Dave and I to not use the living room so much, or? Because I know a few weeks ago you told Dave and I to be out of the apartment for when you brought Jake over and we forgot, and I did feel kind of bad about that. I swear if that's the case I'll make more of an effort to remember." Dirk's body instantly tensed at the mention of Jake. It was so obvious that even Karkat could see it, and he stopped talking for a second.

"... No, that's not it. You don't have to worry about that anymore. Trust me." He breathed, so quiet that Karkat almost didn't even hear him.

Really? They didn’t...?

Suddenly, Karkat's confused expression also morphed into one of realization. It must have something to do with Jake. He remembered what Dave had told him a couple weeks ago, about how Dirk got defensive over a comment he made about the two of them. He had pretty much completely forgotten about it until that very moment. "Did something happen...?" He couldn't stop himself from asking, even if it was none of his business.

Dirk seemed to wince at the question, even if he was expecting it. There was no use in denying it, Karkat had already figured it out. "... I think I'm going to have to break up with him." He finally admitted, the statement hanging heavily in the air between them.

"O-Oh." Karkat responded dumbly. What else could say to that, though? His lips pursed together tightly for a second. "I'm sorry. That... really sucks." He finally contributed, very unhelpfully.

Dirk hummed. "'s not your fault. It's just how it is, I guess." A pause. "I'm the one who should be sorry. I didn't realize how much of a dick I was being. I guess seeing you guys together was just..."

Karkat held up one of his hands to indicate that Dirk didn't need to explain himself. He understood. "It's okay, I get it. All is forgiven."

Dirk visibly relaxed even if he did still feel incredibly awkward. He couldn't believe he had just admitted all that to Karkat, of all people. But it was probably for the best. "Could you do me a favor, though?" He asked, waiting for the other to acknowledge him. "Can you not tell Dave...? About Jake and I, I mean. I know he means well but sometimes he can be... overbearing."

Karkat thought about it for a second. He knew what Dirk meant, and yet it felt weird to keep something from his boyfriend. Though he figured it wouldn't be too hard to come up with a different reason as to why things were okay between them now. Plus, Dirk wouldn't be able to keep it from his brother forever. He'd probably tell him whenever he was ready. "... Alright, I won't tell Dave."

Dirk nodded. "Thank you."

He pushed himself off of the counter, walking out of the kitchen and back towards the hallway. Karkat passed him easily, going to grab a cup for his drink he still desperately needed. While it felt natural to leave things at that, Karkat suddenly remembered something, turning back around towards the older Strider. "Wait!" He called out to him before he could get too far.

Dirk stopped, looking back at Karkat with a raised eyebrow.

"I've been meaning to ask you... What's your older brother's name?"

"Who, Dane?" Dirk replied.

Karkat quickly shook his head. "No no not him!" He let out a frustrated sigh. "God, there are so many of you." He mumbled under his breath. "The other one! You know, 'bro'."

Dirk's mouth opened in a small 'o' when he finally processed the question. An amused smile slowly crossed his face. "I'll tell you, but if you accidentally say it around him he _willl_ kill you. Don't come crying to me if that happens."

The shorter nodded eagerly, tired of being left in suspense.

"... It's Duke. Duke Strider."

Karkat blinked, processing the information for a few seconds. Finally, when it had finally set in, he sputtered out a laugh. He held a hand up to his mouth as he started to giggle uncontrollably. "Duke...?!" He repeated, exasperated. Another bout of laughter rocked his body. "No wonder he fucking hates his name. Holy shit, that's so fucking funny. Duke fucking Strider...!" He continued on, wrapping his arms around his stomach as he laughed.

Karkat's laughter was contagious and Dirk found himself smiling softly. It really was fucking ridiculous. It was actually kind of nice that someone else knew other than him and Dane. And bro, of course. "Again, you didn't hear it from me. If you rat me out then I will be pissed at you." He concluded with an empty threat.

Karkat nodded quickly, his laughter finally calming down. "Right, you got it. My lips are fucking sealed."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While bro being named Dick Strider would have been hilarious, Karcutie and I just couldn't stop laughing at the name Duke. Duke Strider. Just thinking about it makes me laugh. 
> 
> As always, the art was drawn by [Karcutie](https://www.instagram.com/karcutie/?hl=en)! They're all the polaroid pictures Dane had acquired through the years and during his visit. He definitely keeps them up at home in his office or something. The man loves his brothers so much <3
> 
> OKAY, EXCITING ANNOUNCEMENT! We're turning this fic into a SERIES! Karcutie and I have been collaborating once again to create a DaveKat story that's in the same universe. It'll be a sequel to this fic, starting just a couple weeks after Dane leaves, but each fic can stand on their own. It's gonna be a fun romp about Dave and Karkat adapting to life after high school and what that means for their relationship. (There will be some follow-up with Dirk but, unfortunately, no DirkJake really. Sorry to anyone who wanted more involving them but this just felt like the best way to close off their relationship troubles). 
> 
> Karcutie and I are already hard at work writing/drawing for the next fic. Make sure to keep checking back on my AO3 in the next few weeks for the first chapter! 
> 
> Once again thank you to everyone who has given such nice, positive feedback. Make sure to leave a comment if you liked the fic or if you're excited for the DaveKat continuation :D
> 
> You can also find me on [Tumblr](https://nagi-chan-san.tumblr.com/)


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